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Enterprise Threat Intelligence
Published in Mohiuddin Ahmed, Nour Moustafa, Abu Barkat, Paul Haskell-Dowland, Next-Generation Enterprise Security and Governance, 2022
Hacktivism is a form of digital activism intended to support a political agenda such as human rights, environmentalism, or other issues of perceived social injustice. Whilst in the early 2010s hacktivism was prominent, a decade later incidents occur less frequently and are of lower impact.9 Hacktivist operations are typically of low sophistication – DDoS attacks and website defacements are most common. Hacktivists also hijack social media accounts from which incendiary messages can be posted – often accounts are breached by password guessing, or by social-engineering operator employees. Another more aggressive tactic, which can potentially endanger lives, is doxing – the hack and leak of sensitive confidential information. For instance, during the 2020 Belarus protests against an allegedly fixed election, anti-government hacktivists released the names and dates of birth of more than 1000 Belarusian police officers [69]. Such information can include addresses, which could lead to physical attacks against victims. The reduction of hacktivism impact and frequency is likely due to advancing digital investigative capabilities, law enforcement prosecutorial tenacity, and corporate cyber security investment. Successful attacks now typically occur against sub-enterprise sized under-resourced entities, such as local public sector organizations. For example, during the 2020 protests following George Floyd's death, hacktivists launched a DDoS attack against Minneapolis government websites and systems, temporarily disabling them [70].
The Evolving Threat Landscape
Published in Ian Lim, E. Coleen Coolidge, Paul Hourani, Securing Cloud and Mobility, 2013
Ian Lim, E. Coleen Coolidge, Paul Hourani
Hacktivism is a term used to describe the movement of a breed of hackers who hack out of conviction, thus hacker + activist. Hacktivism has been on a steady rise in the past few years, stealing the limelight from data breaches. The term hacker is loosely used, as it may conjure up the idea that every person that subscribes to hacktivism is security savvy and highly skilled. The reality is closer to clusters of elite hackers loosely coupled under a brand that mobilizes the masses by rallying them toward a common goal and providing them the appropriate time, place, and tools to launch a specific mass attack.
Computer and Internet Crime
Published in G. K. Awari, Sarvesh V. Warjurkar, Ethics in Information Technology, 2022
G. K. Awari, Sarvesh V. Warjurkar
Hacktivism is a term that combines the terms hacking and advocacy to describe hacking for a political or social goal. A cyber attacker uses computer-based threats on other devices or networks to threaten or coerce a country into pursuing specific political or social goals. While there is no direct distinction between cyber terrorists and hacktivists, cyber terrorists have more radical aims. Cyber threats can quickly come from other countries thanks to the Internet, making identification and retribution even more difficult (Figure 2.6).
Hacker Definitions in Information Systems Research
Published in Journal of Computer Information Systems, 2022
DeJarvis Oliver, Adriane. B. Randolph
The 2000s also gave birth to hacking subgroups engaged in separate objectives. One such example is the hacktivist group Anonymous. Anonymous infiltrated numerous computer systems to bring awareness to social issues,52 though the group’s actions were considered criminal. However, not all hackers and hacking activity have been malicious or criminal over the past twenty years. Organizations founded during this period, such as The International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (EC-Council)53 and HackerOne,54 have advocated for more recognition and practice of ethical hacking.
Cybersecurity for children: an investigation into the application of social media
Published in Enterprise Information Systems, 2023
Victor Chang, Lewis Golightly, Qianwen Ariel Xu, Thanaporn Boonmee, Ben S. Liu
Hacktivism in computer networks refers to attacking target victims for political objectives such as promoting free speech, human rights, information ethics, etc. This type of motivation also includes religious reasons, for example, online attacks by religious fundamentalists to protest activities in other countries (ISECOM 2020).