Section 3.21 Hacktivists

Question 1

Hacktivists

Answer 1

Individuals or groups that use their technical skills to promote a cause or drive social change instead of for personal gain

Question 2

Hacktivism

Answer 2

Activities in which the use of hacking and other cyber techniques is used to promote or advance a political or social cause

Question 3

4 common techniques

Hacktivism common techniques

Answer 3

1. Website Defacement: Form of electronic graffiti and is usually treated as an act of vandalism
2. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks: Overwhelm the victim’s systems or networks so that they cannot be accessed by the organization’s legitimate users
3. Doxing: Public release of private information about individuals / organisations
4. Leaking of Sensitive Data: Releasing sensitive data to the public at large over the internet

Question 4

Hacktivists motivation

Answer 4

Hacktivists are primarily motivated by their ideological beliefs rather than trying to achieve financial gains

Question 5

Most well known Hacktivits

Answer 5

Anonymous

Loosely affiliated collective that has been involved in numerous high-profile attacks over the years for targeting organizations that they perceive as acting unethically or against the public interest at large

Question 6

Anonymous 2010 attack

Operation ‘Payback’

Answer 6

DDoS attack against various organisations involved in digital anti-piracy efforts including the Motion Picture Assosiation of America and the Recording Industry Assosiation of America