CONCEPT LIST-Hacktivism: Conceptualization, Techniques, and Historical View
By Sally Farhat and Yara Yatim
Romagna, M. (2020). Hacktivism: Conceptualization, Techniques, and Historical View. In Holt, T.J. & Bossler, A.M. (eds.) The Palgrave handbook of international cybercrime and cyberdeviance (pp. 743–769). Switzerland: Palgrave.
Hacktivism: A concept that combines traditional hacking with sociopolitical ideals. It is viewed as an online method that aims to enhance social justice by combining programming skills with critical thinking. The term was first used in the 1990s and it is also known as computer activism, cyber activism, digital activism and electronic activism. Hacktivism could be done individually or by a group and could use legal and illegal hacking methods to disrupt and delay ICT infrastructures without using physical violence nor gaining any financial benefits.
Hacking: It was first defined as an innovative technology motivated by curiosity (1960s). Later on, it became defined as an illegal entree into other people’s computers with criminal intentions. Hacking in its new definition aim to exploit, disrupt, or steal from the victim’s computer. Hacking is viewed by the media and justice systems as a threat to societies and governments.
Political cracking: Most assertive type of hacktivism. Includes: cyber trespasses, website defacements, DDoS, and website redirects.
Performative hacktivism: The process of legally performing hacktivism through holding virtual sit-ins or creating website parodies.
Website parodies: legal recreations of governmental or important websites (for high profile brands or people) that can undermine the business or government’s image/reputation.
Political coding: Developing software’s for political uses, including avoiding censorship or surfing the web anonymously.
Cyborg activism: Defines hacktivism as the process of reconfiguring the modern binaries of equality and hierarchy, emotion and reason, and nihilism and idealism.
E-banditry: A way to look at hacktivism. Views hacktivists as the online Robin Hood who are trying to resist the power structures through fighting to keep the internet free. They perform virtual attacks to create political change.
Denial of service (DoS) and Distributed denial of service (DDoS): DoS and DDoS are easy (not advanced) methods that hacktivists use to endorse their sociopolitical agenda. They function by bombarding the target website and thus, forcing it to slow down, shut down, or crash. If the attack is created by one source, it is called DoS. If the attack comes from two or more sources, it is called DDoS.
Virtual sit-ins: Legal methods that can disrupt the targeted website for a period of time that could last up to hours. They are the online equivalence of street protests. Conducted through a DDoS attack on the targeted website and comes in different categories.
Cyber trespass: Involves the process of accessing a network to gain control over it, appropriate information, or install malicious/virus software.
Website defacements: Involves the process of accessing a website’s backend and replacing its content with new content that carry a particular political message.
Data Theft/Leak: Involves the process of accessing a network (could be governmental or for a business) and stealing its information to then leak (or share) publicly in aim of exposing something.
Website redirect: Involves accessing a website’s backend and modifying its address so when people access it, they’d get redirected to another website.
