In which Wikileaks describes its goals, methods and relevance as an organization. This will be relevant to our depiction of how the internet affects information transparency and availability, especially because of the ethical and political framework in which Wikileaks presents itself. Also, famous acts of hacktivism (such as the Mastercard attacks) have been committed recently on behalf of Wikileaks' cause, making this a relevant article to that topic.
Covers the chain of events in the hacking of Sony's PlayStation network. Contains quotes from Sony on Anonymous' involvement.
An unofficial spokesperson for the group Anonymous describes details of, and motivation for, the Operation Payback attacks against Visa and Mastercard in defense of Wikileaks in 2010. The article goes on to briefly detail the group Anonymous and its affiliations, and then quotes a security analyst about the severity and nature of the attack.
CS 155 lecture on malware which mentioned Stuxnet.
Talk given at the 11th Annual International Symposium on Criminal Justice Issues. Discusses hypothetical cyberterrorism scenarios.
Academic paper that distinguishes between the three categories given in the title. Combines news reports with interviews and survey data to explore the nature and consequences of each category.
Statement released by a number of hacker sites and publications in response to the Legion of the Underground's declaration of cyberwar against Iraq and China. Argues that the destruction of information infrastructure is an illegitimate form of activism.
Describes the Pentagon's policy of treating computer sabotage from another country as an act of war, and provides a juicy quote from a military official. Highlights the main disputes surrounding military policy in response to cyber warfare.
Follows one of the first hacktivist groups, Electronic Disturbance Theater, and explores the reasons they formed. Also discusses the morality of hacktivism from the view of both the government and the protesters.
Article on the first reported instance of distributed denial of service attacks as part of a political agenda.
The original video by Anonymous announcing its "War on Scientology". Also includes transcript of their "Message to Scientology".
metac0m provides an in-depth discussion of the varying definitions of hacktivism and attempts to distinguish different definitions by the methodologies associated with them. In particular, he uses the word cracktivism to describe situations in which activists have gained unauthorized access to computers, and differentiates this from electronic civil disobedience which is often constructive rather than destructive. His numerous examples of acts of hacktivism and analysis of how to categorize them will undoubtedly prove useful for our own classification.
Explores the risks of cyberterrorism. Points out in particular that there is enough human involvement in computer-dependent systems to make certain hypothetical acts of cyberterrorism impractical.
Discusses democracy and democratic discourse in the context of the internet. In particular, emphasizes the relevance of the internet in all modern forms of democratic discussion.
This blog post discusses the technology behind Anonymous' denial-of-service attacks in support of Wikileaks. It mentions some of the disadvantages of the software and suggests some alternative means of activism.
The author claims to be a member of the social circle responsible for coining the word hacktivism and details his own history with the word, from the early definitions to the evolution of the idea across various political groups. This article will prove useful for establishing a background for the topic and providing a clear definition of hacktivism. It also details the early affiliation between hacktivists and their political agendas, in particular human rights, and may provide insight into the "defenders of the public good" outlook on the issue.
Samuel begins with a discussion of the boundaries of hacktivism in an attempt to define it. She later discusses its implications for free speech and the effects of anonymity on the effectiveness of democratic action via the internet. She conludes with an analysis of recent policy toward hacktivism and the implications of the boundary between hacktivism and cyberterrorism.
Shows the progression of an attack by 4chan on a school's database. Includes quotes from the original 4chan post and reactions from the database software's author.
Describes the FloodNet software used by the Electronic Disturbance Theater to perform distributed denial of service attacks against websites.
Early article on the Stuxnet worm. Describes the worm and explores potential implications.
Defines hacktivism using definitions provided by various hacktivist groups. Describes different types of attacks hacktivists use, including worms and denial-of-service attacks, and some examples of each type of attack. Lastly, the article discusses the ethics of hacktivism and how it relates to physical protests.
Discusses an interview with a Pentagon official who refused to comment when asked if the U.S. was involved in the Stuxnet virus.