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Hacktivism
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{{Short description|Computer-based activities as a means of protest}} {{redirect|Hacktivist|the band|Hacktivist (band)}} [[File:Anarchist Village.jpg|thumbnail|upright=1.2|[[Anarchist]] hackers]] '''Hacktivism''' (or '''hactivism'''; a [[portmanteau]] of ''[[Hack (computer security)|hack]]'' and ''[[activism]]''), is the use of computer-based techniques such as [[Security hacker|hacking]] as a form of [[civil disobedience]] to promote a political agenda or social change.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://digital.library.txstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10877/5378/MIKHAYLOVA-THESIS-2014.pdf?sequence=1 |title=THE "ANONYMOUS" MOVEMENT: HACKTIVISM AS AN EMERGING FORM OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION |access-date=2017-07-05 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019175804/https://digital.library.txstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10877/5378/MIKHAYLOVA-THESIS-2014.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=2017-10-19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gawel |first1=Hanna |title=Hacktivism |journal=Internet Policy Review |date=2024 |volume=13 |issue=2 |doi=10.14763/2024.2.1751 |doi-access=free|hdl=10419/296498 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> A form of [[Internet activism]] with roots in [[Hacker (programmer subculture)|hacker culture]] and [[hacker ethics]], its ends are often related to [[free speech]], [[human rights]], or [[freedom of information]] movements.<ref name="NBC News">{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/hackers-take-down-thousands-dark-web-sites-post-private-data-n717556|title=Hackers take down thousands of 'dark web' sites, post private data|work=NBC News|access-date=2017-02-27|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227033824/http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/hackers-take-down-thousands-dark-web-sites-post-private-data-n717556|archive-date=2017-02-27}}</ref> Hacktivist activities span many political ideals and issues. [[Hyphanet]], a [[peer-to-peer]] platform for [[censorship]]-resistant communication, is a prime example of translating political thought and [[freedom of speech]] into code. Hacking as a form of [[activism]] can be carried out by a singular activist or through a network of activists, such as [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] and [[WikiLeaks]], working in collaboration toward common goals without an overarching authority figure.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Milone |first=Mark |year=2002 |title=Hactivism: Securing the National Infrastructure |journal=The Business Lawyer |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=383–413 |jstor=40688127 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pawlicka |first1=Aleksandra |last2=Choraś |first2=Michał |last3=Pawlicki |first3=Marek |title=The stray sheep of cyberspace a.k.a. the actors who claim they break the law for the greater good |journal=[[Personal and Ubiquitous Computing]] |date=2021 |volume=25 |issue=5 |pages=843–852 |doi=10.1007/s00779-021-01568-7 |doi-access=free}}</ref> For context, according to a statement by the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Justice Department]], [[Julian Assange]], the founder of WikiLeaks, plotted with hackers connected to the "Anonymous" and "[[LulzSec]]" groups, who have been linked to multiple cyberattacks worldwide. In 2012, Assange, who was being held in the United Kingdom on a request for extradition from the United States, gave the head of LulzSec a list of targets to hack and informed him that the most significant leaks of compromised material would come from the [[National Security Agency]], the [[Central Intelligence Agency]], or the [[The New York Times|New York Times]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Pettersson |first=Edvard |date=2020-06-25 |title=WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange Accused of Conspiring With LulzSec and Anonymous Hackers |url=https://time.com/5859079/julian-assange-hackers-anonymous-indictment/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> "Hacktivism" is a controversial term with several meanings. The word was coined to characterize electronic [[direct action]] as working toward [[social change]] by combining [[computer programming|programming]] skills with [[critical thinking]]. But just as ''hack'' can sometimes mean cyber crime, ''hacktivism'' can be used to mean activism that is malicious, destructive, and undermining the [[computer security|security]] of the [[Internet]] as a [[technology|technical]], [[economics|economic]], and [[political platform]].<ref>Peter Krapp, [http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/noise-channels "Noise Channels: Glitch and Error in Digital Culture"], University of Minnesota Press 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-8166-7625-5}}. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523062615/http://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/noise-channels |date=2013-05-23 }}.</ref> In comparison to previous forms of social activism, hacktivism has had unprecedented success, bringing in more participants, using more tools, and having more influence in that it has the ability to alter [[election]]s, begin conflicts, and take down businesses.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=George |first1=Jordana J. |last2=Leidner |first2=Dorothy E. |date=2019-09-01 |title=From clicktivism to hacktivism: Understanding digital activism |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471772717303470 |journal=Information and Organization |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=100249 |doi=10.1016/j.infoandorg.2019.04.001 |issn=1471-7727|url-access=subscription }}</ref> According to the [[United States]] 2020–2022 Counterintelligence Strategy, in addition to state adversaries and transnational criminal organizations, "ideologically motivated entities such as hacktivists, [[Leaktivism|leaktivists]], and public disclosure organizations, also pose significant threats".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Menn |first=Joseph |date=March 25, 2021 |title=New wave of 'hacktivism' adds twist to cybersecurity woes |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-hacktivism-focus-idUSKBN2BH3HJ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709031803/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-hacktivism-focus-idUSKBN2BH3HJ |archive-date=Jul 9, 2023 |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.dni.gov/files/NCSC/documents/features/20200205-National_CI_Strategy_2020_2022.pdf National Counterintelligence Strategy of the United States of America 2020-2022]", Director of National Intelligence.</ref>
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