Hacktivism continues to hit headlines, whether it's a campaign against corporate giants like Disney that leaks company data or infiltrating ultra-right wing influencer Andrew Tate's website, ‘The Real World’ with pro-lgbt+ and pro-feminism emojis.
But what is Hacktivism exactly? In this article we’ll explain how hacktivism works and the key differences between how hacktivists operate and cyberterrorism.
What is Hacktivism?
Hacktivism is the use of hacking or cybercrime for a political or social purpose. The word itself is a portmanteau of hacker and activism.
Many see ‘hacktivism’ as a form of digital civil disobedience that leverages technology as a form of protest or direct action.
Hacktivism can involve multiple forms of cyber attack with varying levels of impact. The three most common modes include:
Website Defacement
Website defacement is a type of cyberattack where the hackers access a website and alter the content or appearance.
This can be done to promote a political or social message, to embarrass the website, or to demonstrate the hacker's abilities to infiltrate.
To gain access hackers may exploit software or server vulnerabilities, commit brute force attacks, use phishing attacks or SQL injections.
Data Breach
Data breaches are used to expose sensitive information and bring attention to a cause. Hacktivists may infiltrate systems to access and leak confidential data.
The data breached could be government documents or internal memos that are confidential. It could also be corporate data that involves trade secrets, consumer data or financial information. There may also be cases when personal information is leaked including emails or private messages.
DDoS Attacks
DDos Attacks are a kind of cyber attack that involve overloading a website with so much traffic it becomes inoperable.
Hacktivists will use a botnet, a network of compromised devices, to launch these attacks,
The sudden increase in traffic overwhelms the victims servers, causing them to slow down or crash.
Hacktivists aim to draw attention to their cause and put pressure on the target organization.
Is Hacktivism Different from Cyberterrorism?
Hacktivism and cyberterrorism share some key qualities which often lead people to not understand the difference between the two.
Both hacktivism and cyberterrorism intend to disrupt systems or organizations and their services and use digital hacking tools to achieve their tools.
Both can cause harm, such as reputational damage or societal disruption.
However the key difference between hacktivism and cyberterrorism lays in the intent and level of harm caused.
Hacktivism aims to cause social or political change without causing widespread harm, while cyberterrorism seeks to inflict significant damage.
While both can involve illegal activities, the distinction between the two is important. Hacktivism, while often controversial, is generally seen as a form of digital protest, while cyberterrorism is a serious threat to global security.
Companies must invest in robust cyber security practices to protect themselves from being infiltrated.
