Modern scholars have in the recent decades engaged in the controversial debate on the actual classification of the group Anonymous. Some scholars classify the group as trolls while other associates it with hackers groups. As defined, hackers are individuals or groups that search and exploit the computer system weakness (Messmer 65). In most instances, hackers engage in discouraging and unappealing activities for multiple reasons including challenging the existing systems, protesting against the prevailing rules and regulations, and for profit making. On the other hand, trolls are groups of individuals who engage in the process of sowing discord on the internet through instigating arguments that aim at upsetting community members and leaders (Keith 11). Trolls are also popular for posting off-topic, extraneous, and inflammatory information on the internet. Although hackers and trolls are the main actors in the current threatening cyber crimes, the two groups have varying reasons for abusing the existing technology. Moreover, despite the existence of detailed and intensive strategies to address the two groups of crime, the actors have been outshining the global policy implementers and formulators in numerous occasions (Messmer 65). However, based on the available evidence, the Anonymous group is more of a hacker group than a troll group.
Historically, the Anonymous has been engaging in activities that qualifies the group as hacker group as opposed to troll organisation. The group began its operation on December 2010 by attacking the MasterCard for blocking the Wiki Leaks website donations (Coleman 1). In January 2011, the Anonymous group attack the Tunisian government website for using illegal means against protesters. In February...
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Keith By. Around the World, Hackers are Drawn to `Honeypots' --- Cybersleuths Study the Web-Site Invaders at Work, Develop Countermeasures. vol. No.1,(2000). Wall Street Journal, 8th May 2014. Web:
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In the essay “Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt” the author Julie Zhou demonstrates the negative impact Anonymity in the internet has had on human beings. Following with a convincing argument for unmasking these “trolls” of the internet.
Gallagher, S. (2011, October 23). Anonymous takes down darknet child porn site on Tor network | Ars Technica. Retrieved from http://arstechnica.com/business/2011/10/anonymous-takes-down-darknet-child-porn-site-on-tor-network/
In this book Sterling discusses three cyberspace subcultures known as the hacker underworld, the realm of the cyber cops, and the idealistic culture for the cyber civil libertarians. At the beginning of the story Sterling starts out with discussing the birth of cyberspace and how it came about. The Hacker Crackdown informs the readers of the issues surrounding computer crime and the people on all sides of those problems. Sterling gives a brief summary of what cyberspace meant back then and how it impacted society, and he investigates the past, present and future of computer crimes. For instance he explains how the invention of the telephone led to a world that people were scared of because the telephone was something that was able to let people talk to one another without actually being in the same area. People thought that it was so strange and so different because they didn’t understand all of the information behind it. Back then people thought of the telephone as a tool that allowed others to talk to them in a way that was so personal yet impersonal. Sterling then goes on to explain how “phone phreaks” played such an important part in relating the telephones to computer crimes and how they were so closely related back then.
“We are #Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget #ExpectUs #MillionMaskMarch #OpVendetta #UK”. That message is from the many tweets off of Twitter that the group Anonymous. That message has been one of their many slogans. In Anonymous’ case how do you have an all-encompassing slogan when you have no structure or hierarchy? When you are just a loosely aligned group of internet users how do you become an international group that is an example of an alienated counter-culture Anonymous is many things. Lots of different people have their opinions on them. One thing for sure is that they use Twitter to voice their alienation. The alienation I believe is the strongest is the feeling and belief that they are a counter-culture. They think they are exposing the corruption of the majority and the societal system. Anonymous thinks they are the moral opposite of that corruption. However, the group has many battles to fight. There are many who mock the group. To find research on the group, you have to go to nontraditional media sources often including their home website 4chan. The alienation felt by Anonymous is that of a counter-culture. First however, you must learn what is Anonymous is, how they started, and what they did. That may answer where they will go next.
Today, many people invest much of their time online whether it is to read the news, be on social media or check bank accounts, but little do they realize there is no control and no security online. On January 11, 2017, Thomas L. Friedman’s New York Times article, “Online and Scared”, argues how cyberspace lacks control and regulations and therefore it makes the internet a scary place for many people. Friedman starts by alarming his audience of a recent event, telling some personal opinions, and backing up his claims with many examples and reliable sources. First, Friedman began his article by reminding the audience of winter 2016 about the technology meeting with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. As these men are very powerful, they have a huge impact on technology and the world.
Technology has provided our society with numerous innovations that have been created to improve the quality of life on a daily basis. One such innovation is the Internet. The access to a wide variety of information is perhaps the most valuable tool, as well as the most important tool, that we have entering the twenty-first century. There are virtually no limits on how much can be achieved through the use of the Internet. This is not, however, necessarily a good thing. Most people find that offensive material such as child pornography and hate-related propaganda can be viewed by people too easily via the Internet. While child pornography is a detestable subject, it does not have the sort of appeal that a hate group website does in that there are stricter guidelines preventing individuals from attaining child pornography material from the Internet. These stricter guidelines include the Communications Decency Act (1995), which forbids the use of the Internet for such purposes as attaining material of a child pornographic nature (Wolf, 2000). This law can also be used to monitor the hate group websites, but since the law is too broad, it is rarely held up in court. The hate group websites do, however, have a large enough following that there is legislation being formed to specifically target the material on the sites. Despite the highly offensive nature of hate group websites, the sites should not be censored because the right to free speech must be preserved. In this paper we will define what is considered to be hateful content; why this hateful content should be protected; what else can be done to monitor this material on the Internet; and when are the people cr...
With the way the world is shaping technology and the cyber world are becoming larger each day. Things started to change around the year 2003 when the (would be) leading role in the cyber security world would form. Anonymous has been shaping itself more each day to the get the brand of being internet anarchists and wearing the signature Guy Fawkes masks. Some even dub the group as the protectors of the internet fighting crime where they believe is morally right. The anarchist view of Anon was that no one had any sort of control over it and anyone and everyone could claim to be a part of Anon. There are no written rules when it comes to Anonymous but the idea is to collectively promote freedom of speech, try and combat government control where they deem
Although Anonymous operates effectively and consciously, no organization fighting for civil disobedience is always perfect, but the actions they have taken that are seen as controversial are vastly different than other organizations that are considered to be more radical. One of the controversial actions was when protests were going on at Ferguson and the police officers took off their name badges so that protesters could not identify them. People viewed that as the police being guilty and trying to hide from any wrongdoing, so Anonymous uploaded the information of the police officers so that protestors could identify them. The problem with this is that many police officers did not have their name badges on in order to protect them and their
(Schwabach 1). The Clipper Chip and programs like it are what the internet needs protection from, and that’s why Anonymous exists: to protect those unable to do so from oppressive governments. This was first exhibited when, “Anonymous gained prominence worldwide as a hacktivist group for Project Chanology, an initiative that targeted the Church of Scientology for conduct it believed constituted internet censorship” (Pandmanabhan 4). Through this first act of censorship prevention, Anonymous sealed their fate as protectors of the peace on the internet to millions of users. With a rallying cry
The ability of Anonymous to be everything and anything is their power. It is not individuals, it‘s a collective. This is what makes them as strong and powerful as they are, and gives them the
Ethics in Hacktivism: Moral and Legal Considerations Jamie Uy Hacktivism is the nonviolent use of illegal or legally ambiguous digital tools in pursuit of political ends, or, as defined by British technologist and writer, Ben Hammersley, “the explicit pursuit of political activism via the prankster methods that characterise the tabloid press’s typical hacker.” The term ‘hacktivism' is often applied to suggest that acts that would otherwise be classified as cybercrime or terrorism such as data theft, mail bombs, viruses, worms, and distributed denial of service attacks should be treated as acts of civil disobedience and political protest due to the hacker’s intentions. But is hacktivism a genuine form of activism, or glorified cybercrime?
As much as Anonymous tries to portray themselves as the protector they are the perfect example of a cyberbully, whose goal is to intimidate, threaten, and cause
Anonymous Culture In order to more deeply understand the motives and psychology behind the group of 'Hackers, pranksters and activists' that call themselves Anonymous, we must first understand the culture that online anonymity has created. “Before Facebook and Twitter became avenues for advertising ourselves and our careers, before Internet dating became not only acceptable but preferable to the alternatives, before so much of our social and professional lives came to be conducted on the Web, social spaces of a different kind existed online.” the people who populated the web felt more at home in communities “built around semi-anonymous, real-time, written discourse.” (Anonymity as Culture Treatise, David Auerbach)
The term “cyber terrorism” refers to the use of the Internet as a medium in which an attack can be launched such as hacking into electrical grids, security systems, and vital information networks. Over the past four decades, cyber terrorists have been using the Internet as an advanced communication tool in which to quickly spread and organize their members and resources. For instance, by using the instantaneous spread of information provided by the Internet, several terrorist’s groups have been able to quickly share information, coordinate attacks, spread propaganda, raise funds, and find new recruits for their cause. Instantaneous and unpredictable, the technological advantages these terrorists have obtained from using the Internet includes
Cybercrime is a global issue plaguing the world. The dictionary defines cybercrime as “crime conducted via the Internet or some other computer network”(Merriam-Webster). The definition remains very broad because the word “cyber” is defined as “relating to the culture of computers, information technology, and virtual reality.” Due to the growing number of people gaining access to the internet, rapid development of technology, and the globalization of the world, more of the world population is becoming susceptible to involvement in cybercrime – whether it be as a victim or a criminal. Cybercrime involves different levels of the world on both the victim and criminal side, from an individual citizen, to small groups, businesses, and the government, to the countries of the world.