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Hacktivism is a rising phenomenon in the cyber landscape combining elements of the hacking subculture with ideologically motivated agendas inspired both by traditional activism and by new elements of the digital culture. Despite several studies on the topic, it is still not completely clear what motivates an individual to engage in this type of collective action and if the reasons can be compared to what is already known for more traditional forms of social protests. Taking a socio-psychological approach, this study uses the social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) as a theoretical lens to analyze hacktivists' motives and engagement process. The analysis is based on 28 semi-structured interviews, and it considers the four main elements of the model, naming: morality, social identity, perceived injustice and perceived efficacy. The violation of moral values seems to be the main trigger to participate in the action, while social identity plays an important role both as the second step in the engagement process and as a bridge with the other elements of the model. The results seem to be in line with what is already known for other forms of social protests, although some elements of the model provide new means of interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hacktivists oftentimes challenge or subvert existing power relations or structures and attempt to promote reform. How the public perceives occurrences of hacktivism can influence the direction and impact of operations, including their potential success. Public support can encompass person power, computational ability, resources and solidarity, among other things. This study examines socio-legal contexts in which an individual is embedded and personal perceptions as predictors for support for hacktivism. Using representative survey data from 23 countries (n = 23,140), the study finds that more effective civic participation mechanisms and more positive views toward alternative actors and hacktivists' utilitarianism motives were associated with heightened support. In contrast, greater trust in legal and state authorities promoted opposition. Effective justice was not associated with more support but was with less opposition for hacktivism. Implications for campaigns, social movements, and desistance of activity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hacktivism, the use of cyber-attacks for a social or political agenda, is becoming increasingly more common. We wanted to investigate if specific aspects of morality and subjective support for nonviolent eco-hacktivism would predict a willingness to donate to a crowdfunding campaign. A total of 350 participants responded to our cross-sectional study. To ensure the dimensionality of our morality components, we ran three principal component analyses (one for each actor in the hacktivism vignette) prior to running our regression model. Our regression model explained 41% of the variance in the willingness to donate to a crowdfunding campaign for the hacktivists. In addition to being younger, there was one significant predictor for each actor in our model. Perceiving the hackers to have higher moral-altruistic beliefs, feeling more moral-social connectivity to the spokesperson, and having more moral behavioral intention with the social media commentator were significant predictors. Preexisting beliefs toward clean water mediated the relationships between moral-altruistic beliefs of the hackers and moral-social connectivity to the spokesperson and a willingness to donate to the crowdfunding campaign. These findings suggest that different perceived morality toward varying actors may better predict support for hacktivism than others, and preexisting beliefs may assist in suppressing objective morality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a retheorisation of Rawlsian civil disobedience through examining the burdens we expect people to bear when they practice civil disobedience, focussing specifically on marginalised groups. First, I consider public concerns over civil disobedience, to elicit the idea of an 'authentic civil disobedience'. I then assess the claim that civil disobedience occurs within a 'nearly just' society in order to recognise the more complex position of marginalised civil disobedients. This allows me to frame any criteria we theorise for civil disobedience as a wicked problem. Next, I examine one particular criterion dominant within the literature: that to be interpreted as civil disobedience, disobedients must show a willingness to suffer the legal consequences – and so, must not act anonymously. I claim that this asks too much of civil disobedients in a marginalised context and conclude civil disobedience theory needs retheorising to consider when and why anonymity is acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to describe the negotiation of the attitude of the hacker group الهاكرز المسلمون (al-hākirz al-muslimūn) 'Muslim hackers' (MH) in the narrative of their hacking threats to the governments of Sweden, Australia and Israel. A descriptive-explanatory design was applied by taking three hacking threat videos on the YouTube channel "Hacker News" as a data source. Data collection was carried out through the stages of transcription, re-reading, printing, and classification. Meanwhile, data analysis referring to the appraisal theoretical framework is carried out through the stages of reduction, presentation, analysis and interpretation, and concluding. The research results showed that affect was found in 11 data (25.0%), judgment in 17 data (38.6%), appreciation in 16 data (36.4%) The type attitude is dominated by judgment and appreciation with negative intentions. This negative attitude is amplified by a force strategy that contains 'volume up' graduations to the highest level. MH stated its position firmly and strongly by making subjectivity the sole source. The research results reveal new findings amidst various previous studies which does not explain the speaker's attitude in the threat narrative they provide. As the phenomenon of cyber warfare develops, the threat of MH hacking have a significant impact in exerting political pressure on the object of the threat.

Copyright of Bulletin of the 'Carol I' National Defence University / Buletinul Universitatii Nationale de Aparare 'Carol I' is the property of Carol I National Defence University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Hacktivism represents a dynamic intersection of technology and activism, where individuals or groups leverage digital tools to advance social or political causes. This text explores the multifaceted nature of hacktivism, encompassing a spectrum of activities from online protests and information dissemination to more disruptive forms of digital direct action.

The terrorist attack on the 11th of September, 2001, marked the change in the West’s perception of the Middle East and vice versa. Followed by the US military presence in the Middle East, this event contributed to the development of the means of terrorist actions around the world and the popularization of jihad. The hostile attitude of the West thus succeeded in maintaining the state of tension between the two spaces. Over time, jihadist and terrorist groups have been joined by members originating from the West who were convinced by the importance of the “missions” they later undertook. In the present paper, we will focus on the transposition and continuation of hostilities in both geographic and cyber spaces, with reference even to the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This research addressed whether exposure to media, which increasingly portrays hacker characters across diverse media domains, may predict perceptions of others’ willingness to hack. Specifically, this study assessed how wishful identification with hacker characters may contribute to individuals’ perception of hacking behaviors. One-hundred forty-nine North American participants were recruited using MTurk.com. Participants reported (1) their exposure to general media and perceived identification with a fictional hacker character, and (2) their perceived risks, payoffs, and estimated willingness of others to engage in hacker behaviors regarding a specific call to hack. Additionally, this research examined differences in the effects of media exposure on hacking likelihood between two types of hacks: financial hacking attacks and hacktivism attacks. Results show (1) that perceived payoffs of hacking, but not perceived risks, predict individuals’ estimation of hacker behaviors, (2) a significant and positive indirect effect between media exposure and estimation of others’ willingness to hack passes through wishful identification and perceived payoffs of hacking attacks, and (3) no significant differences in the above relationships between the two types of hacks. Together, these findings highlight that media exposure may increase positive perceptions of hackers and in turn increase the perception of pervasiveness and legitimacy of engaging in hacking behaviors.

The paper discusses cybersecurity for children (particularly teenagers) and focuses on Social Media's impact using a theoretical approach. Many social media users are unaware of their Cybersecurity in Social Media and all-round digital privacy and do not understand the importance of developing privacythrough taking both digital and physical measures. We identify seven categories of hacking motivations through multimedia platforms: Emotions, Financial gains, Entertainment, Proficiency for jobs, Hacktivism, Espionage, and Cyber-warfare, particularly for children. As vulnerable people, they can be the principal victims. We explore various methods used for hacking, such as Sexting, Facebook depression, and Influence on buying advertisements. In our findings, we demonstrate that the most critical protection method is to fully understand the digital footprint left behind and its possible consequences. The users should know this as a self-protection mechanism to mitigate security issues before problems occur. It means adopting the same mindset and attitude of protecting oneself in the online world as in the real world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand crowds and crowd control practices in the digital media environment, this article briefly probes two institutions that practice 'crowd control' online: a cybersecurity company called CrowdStrike and a social media analytics service called CrowdTangle. These two firms continue the discourses of crowd theory in the traditions of criminologist Scipio Sighele and crowd psychologist Gustave Le Bon, adjusted for the new affordances of digital technology. The digital media environment affords infrastructure for forensically individualizing and influencing mass behaviour in the styles of Foucauldian and Deleuzian discipline, control and 'moulding'. The probe concludes by emphasizing the political stakes of increasingly sophisticated crowd control infrastructures made possible through digital media environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the research on Anonymous has studied the group from an ethnographic perspective or focused on social media posts to learn what is most important for the movement. There have been only few attempts to analyze how hacktivists are choosing suitable targets for cyberattacks with protest objectives. The present study attempts to provide insight into their shared values by looking at interactions among Anonymous members on public chatrooms during the four months of the Quebec student demonstrations known as the 2012 Printemps Érable protests. A thematic analysis was performed to categorize the important themes. The results show that the core values of Anonymous’s group is congruent to that of Anonymous’s social media accounts, emphasizing freedom of expression, often linked to freedom of speech and freedom of information as integral to the target selection process. Also, participants in the chatroom proposed traditionally suitable targets (i.e., the government, the police, political parties) and seems to agree upon which targets should be rejected such as traditional news media, deemed important to diffuse its message and provide information about its operations.

Patrick Burkart, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Communication: International Journal of Media and Culture, interviews Dr Igor Vamos, member of The Yes Men and Professor of Art at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, USA. Dr Burkart and Dr Vamos discuss the formative years of experimentation with art and politics which informed Dr Vamos's vision for The Yes Men's environmental activism and the prospects for an ecological politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current essay aims to analyze the Italian cyberpunk experience through the lens of the «Decoder» magazine proposals (1987-1998), delving, in the second part, into the comic by Prof. Bad Trip included into the illustrated column Il Decoder dei piccoli. Giving space to music and performative arts, but also radical critics, and recovering a whole tradition of youth protests from the previous decades, the magazine contributed to the genre definition. This happened thanks to the graphic design, which enlightened the arrival of dystopian worlds, and thanks to a precise thinking direction, which was clear in essays such as Rete Informatica Alternativa [Alternative informatical web] by Raf "Valvola" Scelsi. In particular, we discuss some creative passages that drove the magazine as a point of reference for cyberpunk and international hacktivism. The editorial board participated in the definition of new virtual communities: the group developed its own BBS, and it was part of the project Piazza Virtuale by Van Gogh Tv, on the occasion of documenta IX in 1992 in Kassel.

One of the most modern currents of anarchism - crypto-anarchism - arose as a response to the global development of digital technologies and the Internet and operates exclusively within the framework of the “global web”. The paper attempts to study one of the most unusual branches of anarchist philosophy and its impact on the digital life and politics of several states. With the help of functional and comparative methods of political research, the author analyzes crypto-anarchism as part of the ideology of anarchism, the main goal of which is to find out how viable crypto-anarchism is as an independent movement. The article raises the question of whether the ideas of crypto-anarchism can be used to effectively address current socio-political problems. The theoretical basis of crypto-anarchism looks more and more relevant, as it affects the security of the individual on the Web and is aimed at fighting against widespread state control. Despite the fact that, as the study showed, cryptoanarchism as a movement does not have sufficient elaboration and influence on real politics, its deeper study can be useful for preparing political programs aimed at Internet users (which constitute around 62.5 % of the global population), as well as studying political models and their development paths using virtual simulations and virtual states (Liberland, Wirtland), which are characteristic of crypto-anarchism.

The Darknet is becoming an increasingly visible structural unit in the political sphere and at the same time remains a little-studied area of cyberspace. Therefore, the article aims to determine the conceptual prism for its consideration and its actual significance in the measurement of the political. With the help of comparative historical analysis, the study reveals the causes and time of the political birth of the Darknet, characterizes its resources and political role through system and content analysis, systematizes and clarifies the concepts of power and politics in the Network based on the provisions of R. Gel, M. Castels, K. Schmitt, etc. The author names the expansion of states (especially autocracies) in the digital space as the main factor in the politicization and transformation of the Darknet. The pressure of power and dominance systems aimed at maintaining sovereignty and control in cyberspace caused “digital resistance” of programmers and users seeking free data exchange and confidentiality, as well as civil activists who strived to avoid prosecution for dissent, which led to the renewed architecture and functionality of the Darknet, its transformation into an alternative space of informational interaction and a database to build up the opposition potential. Criminals also took advantage of the opportunities of the new network for their own purposes. The main result of the research is the thesis that the Darknet is being transformed into a special socio-technical system that is outside the sphere of international and state law, where all interactions are carried out exclusively through private agreements between clients, with an alternative world payment system based on cryptocurrencies.

Making use of the liberal concept of civil disobedience, this paper assesses, under which circumstances instances of illegal digital protest—called "hacktivism"—can be justified vis-à-vis the pro tanto political obligation to obey the law. For this, the paper draws on the three main criteria for liberal civil disobedience—publicity, nonviolence, and fidelity to law—and examines how these can be transferred to the realm of the digital. One of the main disanalogies between street and cyberspace protests is the tendency of hacktivists to remain anonymous, which in turn calls into question their fidelity to law (the third criterion). The paper argues that there are functionally equivalent alternatives to what can be called the "acceptance-of-legal-consequences-condition" (ALCC) associated with the fidelity to law. As a result, the ALCC is not a necessary condition for hacktivists to showcase their fidelity to law, thereby resolving the apparent disanalogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social media revolution has affected all areas, including activism. However, there is scepticism about its emancipatory capacity, and it is considered by some to be a distorted form of activism. This article presents a review of the existing literature on digital activism, starting with the concept itself, and examines its impact on the organisation of activists and citizen participation. Likewise, based on the platformisation of these spaces and the evolution of their affordances, we observe a growth in individual, strategic and low-commitment participation, the accentuation of the role of emotions in media that promote virality, and the assumption of playful forms of politainment by activists -especially on TikTok-. On the other hand, the strategies carried out by organisations to promote activism in relation to their causes are investigated, such as the generation of arguments provided by the interest group and the involvement in an action of dissemination, co-creation and replication of activists. Finally, the main challenges of digital activism are indicated: the growing inequality in terms of access to algorithmic visibility between activists and brands, influencers and interest groups; the desirability of complementing playful activism with work in alternative digital media that allows for more stable forms of collaboration; and the need to protect activists against the growth of hate speech on these platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hacktivism is a social phenomena which evokes different social assessments. The definitions of a term differ in many respects. This theoretical model of hacktivism has not yet been implemented into an empirical strategy for sociological research. The paper describes the the main initiatives taken by Anonymous collective during the 2014 conflict in Ukraine, which is considered by many researchers to be the first stage of preparation for the war triggered by Russia in 2022. Author analyses the collective's activity in 2022, after the war started, in order to identify similarities and differences in the creation of information messages about the situation. The comparative analysis covers information published in Anonymous' tweets and selected online news services. She asks the question about the possible consequences of Anonymous actions in the open cyber field for the social moods around the world. To what extent these media messages and their construction have reflected the social perception and/or social attitudes towards Russia's aggression? The theoretic explorations were embedded mainly on two methods: criticism of writing and the analytical and comparative one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. The Russo-Ukrainian War is the largest war in Europe since World War II. The aim of the paper is to look at how politically motivated hacking by Russia has been used as part of the Ukraine situation with a focus on the different attack types since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The paper will focus on the different groups acting on behalf of Russia, their actions, and techniques. The paper will discuss what their actions mean for the future of cyber conflicts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a theoretical and empirical exploration of a form of solidarity in which one group spontaneously mobilizes in support of another, unrelated group. It is a fleeting solidarity based not on shared identity but on temporarily aligned goals, one aimed less at persistence and more at short-term impact. We call this drive-by solidarity because of its spontaneous, unilateral, and unsolicited nature. We argue that it is a "thinner" form of solidarity in comparison to "thicker" forms usually conceptualized in the social movement literature. We examine the case of Anonymous's "Operation KKK" (#OpKKK), an online hacktivist campaign to expose Ku Klux Klan members carried out in support of #BlackLivesMatter protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, in November 2014, and we use social media data to show that, while BLM and Anonymous networks temporarily coordinated during the protests, there is no subsequent evidence of long-term coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Russian invasion of the territory of the Ukrainian state in February 2022 disturbed the existing order in the world. The hybrid nature of this war resulted in the involvement of hacktivists from the Anonymous group. Therefore, the aim of this article is to analyze the legitimacy and legality of the hacking activities undertaken by members of the Anonymous group against the Russian state. Assuming that hacking activities are illegal in the light of the law, the author proves that during the war, this type of activity in cyberspace becomes justified and is one of the tools to fight the aggressor. At the same time, this fits in with the modern concept of hybrid wars because today’s conflicts do not have the pure form of conventional actions, but are a mix of various fighting methods.

In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, African states have witnessed a surge in digital activism aimed at demanding political accountability and social change. Although there is a budding literature on digital activism in Africa, it is unclear whether it translates into tangible social change on the continent. Similarly, the surge of digital repression by African leaders is yet to be accounted for. Using qualitative data, the author claims that digital activism amounts to 'small gains' as against holistic changes in the form of reform and restructuring of socioeconomic and political institutions, systems and policies that engender political repression, human rights violation, and socioeconomic miseries on the continent. The study argues that the surge of digital repression by African leaders is aimed at frustrating use of the internet and digital technologies for mass mobilisation and physical protests considered a threat to the longevity of their repressive rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Queer parrhesia is an activist mode of speaking truth to power that destabilizes dominant societal positions and their opposition. We develop this concept and illustrate one of its registers, parodic paranoia, through a close reading of the whistleblower and transactivist Chelsea Manning's bid to run for U.S. Senate in the 2018 Democratic primaries. Hacktivism and transactivism, we show, constitute rhetorical manoeuvres by which Manning performs (as) a subject position that combines an ethics of paranoia with an aesthetics of parody to enact politics as unusual. Beginning from Manning's parodic paranoia, we conceptualize queer parrhesia as an inherently transgressive political style and discuss its performative potential for dismantling current social orders and imagining less orderly alternatives. The productive potential of queer parrhesia, we conclude, can only be realized when the subject position of the parrhesiastes is put at risk, gaining strength from its performative vulnerability and, indeed, failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this investigation is to analyze the connections established between the hacker culture and the transmedia strategies of TV series. For this purpose, the series Mr. Robot (2015-2019) has been selected as a case study. From the analysis point of view, a qualitative methodology has been used. The main results show that Mr. Robot's transmedia strategies incorporate contents based on free software, identity theft, retrocomputing, hacktivism, real-time hacking simulation, fictional cyberattack, social engineering, and the possibility of «hacking» the series itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks remain a persistent nuisance on the Internet. They exploit the fact that the Internet lacks centralized access control. Since this vulnerability was a core design decision of the early Internet, DDoS attacks have persisted. This article presents the technologies and tools that are used in DDoS, followed by a timeline of the major DDoS incidents. This is followed by a discussion of the primary classes of DDoS incidents and how the computing ecosystem enables DDoS. Early attacks were related to hacker culture, but their focus quickly changed to commercial exploitation. There have also been a number of political uses of DDoS, including cyberwar, hacktivism, and terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Artnodes is the property of Universitat Oberta de Catalunya and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Russian invasion of the territory of the Ukrainian state in February 2022 disturbed the existing order in the world. The hybrid nature of this war resulted in the involvement of hacktivists from the Anonymous group. Therefore, the aim of this article is to analyze the legitimacy and legality of the hacking activities undertaken by members of the Anonymous group against the Russian state. Assuming that hacking activities are illegal in the light of the law, the author proves that during the war, this type of activity in cyberspace becomes justified and is one of the tools to fight the aggressor. At the same time, this fits in with the modern concept of hybrid wars because today’s conflicts do not have the pure form of conventional actions, but are a mix of various fighting methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rivista di Criminologia, Vittimologia e Sicurezza is the property of Societa Italiana di Vittimologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais is the property of Associacao Nacional de Pos-Graduacao e Pesquisa em Planejamento Urbano e Regional and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)