Hacktivism

The Rhetoric of the Web: The Rhetoric of the Streets Revisited Again

by Brett Lunceford

Lunceford, Brett. “The Rhetoric of the Web: The Rhetoric of the Streets Revisited Again.” Communication Law Review, 12, no. 1 (2012): 40-55.

Protest rhetoric has always provided a prime example of how communication can work to change the human condition, but... more Protest rhetoric has always provided a prime example of how communication can work to change the human condition, but strategies of protest have evolved as the United States has transformed into an information economy. Although protest remains “on the streets,” it has also moved into the digital realm. This essay builds on the work of Franklyn Haiman by considering the ethical and rhetorical dimensions of hacktivism (politically motivated computer hacking). After briefly tracing the historical development of hacktivism, I discuss several recent politically motivated website defacements and denial of service attacks, concluding that Haiman’s argument that the rhetoric of the streets should be held to different rhetorical and ethical standards still holds true in the online world.

Revisiting the Curious World of Art & Hacktivism.

by Marc Garrett

published as an article on Furtherfield March 10th 2012.

Revisiting the Curious World of Art & Hacktivism, is the first of a series of articles exploring how contemporary... more Revisiting the Curious World of Art & Hacktivism, is the first of a series of articles exploring how contemporary artists engaged with technology and activism are transcending established art behaviours. Crossing over into territories that reflect not only social and political contexts, but new dialogues of experiencing and understanding art. The politics of today becomes the background, the material and canvas of imaginative and critical play.

Yip, M. and Webber, C. (2011) Hacktivism: a Theoretical and Empirical Exploration of China’s Cyber Warriors. In: ACM WebSci '11, 14-17 June 2011, Koblenz, Germany.

by Craig Webber

Cyber Warfare - Addressing New Threats in the Information Age

by Scott Applegate

Written in January 2009 in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Military Studies.

The integration of information technology into virtually every aspect of modern society has created vulnerabilities... more The integration of information technology into virtually every aspect of modern society has created vulnerabilities that can be exploited with potentially disastrous results. Cyber Warfare can be used to exploit these vulnerabilities for political, economic or military effects inexpensively and with few repercussions to the initiating state due to the anonymity and plausible deniability offered by the internet. A number of near-peer competitor states are now developing offensive Cyber Warfare programs in order to potentially create an asymmetric advantage on the modern battlefield. Recent large scale cyber attacks on both Estonia and Georgia demonstrate the danger posed by Cyber Warfare and may represent the beginning of a new arms race to develop this new form of warfare. Cyber Warfare is a new and evolving form of warfare that presents a strategic threat to the United States and must be addressed. The United States should pursue aggressive offensive and defensive cyber warfare programs which must be coordinated across the whole of government in order to address this threat.

Cyber Militias and Political Hackers - Use of Irregular Forces in Cyber Warfare

by Scott Applegate

Published in IEEE Security and Privacy, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 16-22, Sep./Oct. 2011, doi:10.1109/MSP.2011.46

Recent cyberattacks, such as those carried out against Estonia and Georgia, have grayed the line between political... more Recent cyberattacks, such as those carried out against Estonia and Georgia, have grayed the line between political hackers and legitimate combatants involved in cyberconflicts. There has been fierce debate as to whether these attacks are the independent acts of politically motivated individuals and groups or the strategic acts of states using covert methods to direct such actions to achieve larger political objectives. These attacks lead to many important questions but have yet to be answered in the international community. Under international agreements, can a computer attack truly be claimed as an armed attack? Are participants in these cyberattacks legitimate combatants, or are they merely politically motivated individuals who are breaking the law and should thus be treated as criminals under existing international agreements? This article explores these issues, the possible benefits and drawbacks of such actions, and the ramifications such cybermilitias might have on the current and future state of cyberconflicts.

Tweaking genes in your garage

by Alessandro Delfanti

The Evolution of Anonymous as a Political Actor

by Max Halupka

The internet has provided individuals alienated from the democratic system with a new means for political... more The internet has provided individuals alienated from the democratic system with a new means for political participation. Such online engagement takes the form of cyberactivism or e-activism. This thesis contributes to the wider academic understanding of cyberactivism through an analysis of the decentralised virtual community, Anonymous. Anonymous possesses a number of characteristics which serve to differentiate it from similar activist communities: a collective identity, anonymity in interaction, no registration process, no overarching hierarchy or authoritative body, horizontal communications, and a memetic cultural base. The thesis presents the first scholarly conceptualisation of Anonymous’s development, a significant element in contextualising the community’s political behaviour. Ultimately the thesis argues that Anonymous engages politically by exhibiting and facilitating multiple political forms. When analysed in combination which the relevant literature, the research points to a distinct relationship between Anonymous’s participant base and the corresponding political approach.

The Gautrain: Active Communication Research on the Manifestations of the Hacker Ethic by Citizen Journalists

by Maritha Pritchard

The Space of Tactical Media

by Alessandra Renzi

Renzi, A. (2008) “The Space of Tactical Media”, in Megan Boler (ed). Tactics in Hard Times: Practices and Spaces of New Media. Cambridge: MIT Press, pp. 71-100.

Sociological reflections on hackers and hacking

by Brian Alleyne

Draft/working paper.

The paper connects earlier work to more recent developments. It calls for a re-imagination of hacking against the... more The paper connects earlier work to more recent developments. It calls for a re-imagination of hacking against the backdrop of late capitalist network society. Hacking is discussed in terms of open and clandestine practices, ‘hacktivism’, and hardware hacking. The paper concludes by sketching the outlines of an integrated sociological understanding of hacking, one which can account for the varied representations and practices that constitute hacking in the contemporary world.

Private power and new media: the case of the corporate suppression of WikiLeaks and its implications for the exercise of fundamental rights on the Internet

by Angela Daly

Presented at 4th international conference on Information Law, ICIL 2011, 20-21 May 2011, Thessaloniki, Greece. Go to website, click 'Daly Angela' in the list of speakers and there are links to the abstract, full text of the paper and conference presentation.

An updated version of this piece is included in 'Human Rights and Risks in the Digital Era' published by IGI in April 2012 (http://www.igi-global.com/book/human-rights-risks-digital-era/60788).

The focus of this paper will be the recent conduct of various corporations in withdrawing Internet services provided... more The focus of this paper will be the recent conduct of various corporations in withdrawing Internet services provided to information portal WikiLeaks in light of the controversy surrounding WikiLeaks publishing classified documents of correspondence between the US State Department and its diplomatic missions around the world in late 2010. The implications for freedom of expression (especially the right to access information) on the Internet will be examined in the wake of WikiLeaks, particularly in the context of the infringer being a private actor, and one comprising a mono- or oligopoly. The motivation of these private actors in contributing to the suppression of WikiLeaks will be assessed to examine whether it constitutes an example of Birnhack and Elkin-Koren's 'invisible handshake' i.e. the 'emerging collaboration' between the state and multinational corporations on the Internet that they posit is producing 'the ultimate threat'. The legal recourse open to WikiLeaks and its users for the infringement of fundamental rights will be examined, especially the First Amendment to the US Constitution since the geographic location for these events has mostly been the USA. Finally, the postscript to the WikiLeaks controversy will be considered: the “information warfare” conducted by hackers will be examined to determine whether the exercise of power of these Internet corporations in a way which infringes fundamental rights can be checked by technological means, and whether hackers are indeed the true electronic defenders of freedom of expression.

::Arte::Política ::NetArt::Activismo

by Jorge Luis Vaca Forero

A Disconcerting Treatise on the Essence of Net Culture.

by Hans H. Diebner

In: Station Rose: 20 Digital Years Plus. Verlag für Moderne Kunst, Nürnberg, 2010, pp. 15-20.

The Utilisation of Direct Democracy and Meritocracy in the Decision Making Process of the Decentralised Virtual Community Anonymous

by Max Halupka

Co-authored with Cassandra Star
Presented at the Australian Political Studies Association conference, 2011

This paper will investigate the utilisation of direct democracy within the decentralised virtual community Anonymous,... more This paper will investigate the utilisation of direct democracy within the decentralised virtual community Anonymous, and in particular, their ability to function as a coherent political actor while adhering to their self enforced anonymity based persona. Anonymous is best understood as a virtual embodiment of the hacker ethos; orchestrating activist based operations which adhere to their internal majority opinion. Recently, Anonymous has been involved in providing support for the Middle Eastern democracy protests and orchestrating attacks on HBGary Federal and Sony Corporation.

We argue that meritocracy and direct democracy form the base for their decision making process. This, in itself, derives from their unique community characteristics which draw upon an anti- individualistic ideology. Anonymous functions as a leaderless ‘hive mind’, devoid of personal philosophy eschewing any individualisation or emergence of leadership or personality. Anonymous is able to identify insider status within the community through reference to individual knowledge of a collective cultural capital. Esoteric memes comprise the fundamental cultural formation of the group, and, as such, a detailed knowledge of these allows for inter-community communication. Anonymous employs aspects of meritocracy in formulating collective decisions. With all members utilising the same user-name, individualism is nonexistent. As such, the merit of an argument is based solely on its content as opposed to a pre-constructed perception of the individual and their perceived history or standing in the group. Furthermore, an individual’s mastery of the group’s culture denotes their involvement within the community and the level of their understanding in relation to its founding ideology.

From this basis, and utilising aspects of direct democracy, Anonymous is able to orchestrate large scale activist operations; coinciding with the current membership’s majority outlook. In this sense, Anonymous has no definitive political, philosophical, theological or sociological preference as the group’s membership is in a constant state of flux.

For these reasons, the paper argues that Anonymous, while utilising direct democracy in the decision making process, also employs aspects of meritocracy in judging the relevance, validity and worth of individual postings and contributions to their debates on upcoming actions and campaigns. Therefore, this paper provides a contribution to greater understanding of decentralised virtual community decision making processes amongst activist organisations.

"Mobile Bodies, Zones of Attention and Tactical Media Interventions."

by Carolyn Guertin

[forthcoming] Activist Media and Biopolitics: Critical Media Interventions in the Age of Biopower. Conference Proceedings University of Innsbruck, 2011. 17 pp.

“Acoustic Space, Territories and Borderlines: Art as Locative Media That Saves Lives."

by Carolyn Guertin

With Professor Jesús Octavio Elizondo. McLuhan Galaxy: Understanding Media Today. Conference Proceedings. Barcelona 2011.

CYBERWAR: THE FUTURE OF WAR?

by Brett Lunceford

Lunceford, Brett. “Cyberwar: The Future of War?” In War and the Media: Essays on News Reporting, Propaganda and Popular Culture, edited by Paul M. Haridakis, Barbara S. Hugenberg, and Stanley T. Wearden, 238-251. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2009.

Virtual Terrorism and the Internet E-Learning Options

by David R Cole

This paper examines the concept of 'virtual terrorism'. This idea intersects with lifestyle choice and reactions to... more This paper examines the concept of 'virtual terrorism'. This idea intersects with lifestyle choice and reactions to the domination of the West's world view through the e-Learning of the internet. There are real terrorists who use the internet as a means of camouflage, concealment and a way to organise virtually. Secondly, there are also those who use the internet as a hacking playground, subverting dominant codes in a different way to the terrorists. Thirdly, there is the negativity, boredom and repetition that endless access to information can induce. This type of virtual terrorism is best described through affect and a new form of western nihilism.

Building Hacker Collective Identity One Text Phile at a Time: Reading Phrack

by Brett Lunceford

Lunceford, Brett. “Building a Collective Identity One Text Phile at a Time: Reading Phrack.” Media History Monographs, 11, no. 2 (2009): 1-26. http://facstaff.elon.edu/dcopeland/mhm/ mhmjour11-2.pdf.

Research concerning computer hackers generally focuses on how to stop them; far less attention is given to the texts... more Research concerning computer hackers generally focuses on how to stop them; far less attention is given to the texts they create. Phrack, an online hacker journal that has run almost continuously since 1985, is an important touchstone in hacker literature, widely read by both hackers and telephone and network security professionals. But beyond its instantiation as a compendium of illicit technical knowledge, Phrack was, above all, a rhetorical publication. The files in each issue of Phrack created a shared rhetorical vision concerning the place of the hacker underground within society and in relation to law enforcement officials, as well as what it means to be a hacker. This essay examines two important events in the evolution of the hacker movement through the lens of Phrack—Operation Sundevil and the arrest of Kevin Mitnick. How these events were framed in Phrack both shaped and reflected emerging shifts in hacker collective identity.

Hacking Practices and their Relevance for Consumer Studies: The Example of the 'Jailbreaking'of the iPhone

by Paolo Magaudda

in "Consumer, Commodities and Consumption" Vol 10 (2), 2010.

While hackers and hacking practices are usually associated with criminals or murky subcultures, modifications of... more While hackers and hacking practices are usually associated with criminals or murky subcultures, modifications of software and hardware of consumer devices are becoming increasingly common in wider social contexts. This short piece aims at showing how hacking modification practices fit into consumer studies research’s recent aenda. Firstly, this topic will be considered in the light of a few concepts recently emerged in consumer studies, such as those of «craft consumer» (Campbell 2005), «prosumer» (Ritzer and Jurgenson, 2010) and of «culture jamming» (Carducci, 2006). Secondly, these arguments will be exemplified by shortly describing the practice of «jailbreking» (i.e the modification of the original software) of Apple’s hardware such as iPhone and iPad and their implications for consumption patterns.