Hactivism
What Is Hacktivism? 2.0 by metac0m (December 2003) Copyleft © The TheHacktivist.com 2000-2004. All Rights Reversed.
Hacktivism is the fusion of hacking and activism; politics and technology. More specifically, hacktivism is described as hacking for a political cause. In this context, the term hacker is used in reference to its original meaning. As defined in the New Hacker's Dictionary, a hacker is "a person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities" and one who is capable of "creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations". (1) Activism is defined as "a policy of taking direct and militant action to achieve a political or social goal". (2) Therefore, a clinical definition of hacktivism is: Hacktivism: a policy of hacking, phreaking or creating technology to achieve a political or social goal.(3) However, both hacking and activism, and thus hacktivism, are loaded words ripe for a variety of interpretation. Therefore it is preferable not to clinically define hacktivism but rather to describe the spirit of hacktivism. Hacktivism is root. It is the use of one's collective or individual ingenuity to circumvent limitations, to hack clever solutions to complex problems using computer and Internet technology. Hacktivism is a continually evolving and open process; its tactics and methodology are not static. In this sense no one owns hacktivism - it has no prophet, no gospel and no canonized literature. Hacktivism is a rhizomic, open-source phenomenon. In the Beginning... Since hacktivism is a recombinant initiative comprised of two divergent communities (hackers and activists) it is necessary to understand their respective backgrounds in order to analyze this historic merger and to examine its challenges and future capabilities. "Hacker" was originally a term that encapsulated an individual's deep understanding of computer systems and networks and the ability to invent, modify, and refine such systems. It is a
Hacktivism is the fusion of hacking and activism; politics and technology. More specifically, hacktivism is described as hacking for a political cause. In this context, the term hacker is used in reference to its original meaning. As defined in the New Hacker's Dictionary, a hacker is "a person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities" and one who is capable of "creatively overcoming or circumventing limitations". (1) Activism is defined as "a policy of taking direct and militant action to achieve a political or social goal". (2) Therefore, a clinical definition of hacktivism is: Hacktivism: a policy of hacking, phreaking or creating technology to achieve a political or social goal.(3) However, both hacking and activism, and thus hacktivism, are loaded words ripe for a variety of interpretation. Therefore it is preferable not to clinically define hacktivism but rather to describe the spirit of hacktivism. Hacktivism is root. It is the use of one's collective or individual ingenuity to circumvent limitations, to hack clever solutions to complex problems using computer and Internet technology. Hacktivism is a continually evolving and open process; its tactics and methodology are not static. In this sense no one owns hacktivism - it has no prophet, no gospel and no canonized literature. Hacktivism is a rhizomic, open-source phenomenon. In the Beginning... Since hacktivism is a recombinant initiative comprised of two divergent communities (hackers and activists) it is necessary to understand their respective backgrounds in order to analyze this historic merger and to examine its challenges and future capabilities. "Hacker" was originally a term that encapsulated an individual's deep understanding of computer systems and networks and the ability to invent, modify, and refine such systems. It is a