anti-hacktivism

Movies and media often glamorize breaking into systems and putting a network under an all-powerful thumb. Hollywood portrays characters like Napster on The Italian Job, Rat on The Core and countless others as digital demigods. Groups like Anonymous or DERP might mean well by calling themselves hacktivists instead of hackers; however, maybe they could better share their beliefs another way. Many of us view these hackers as technological geniuses whose intrusions are welcome as long as the intrusions do not involve us.

Although it may not be starkly obvious, hacking has significant costs. Networks are like communities. In a similar sense that we all live in adjoining houses and cities, our computers are all part of a virtual community. There exists a harmony within the system of computers that is violated whenever an intruder unwarrantably breaks in. The trust that we have informally established is broken and we must now make safe-guards that we never previously needed. These hacktivists claim that all information should not be hoarded but shared freely. It does not follow the same line of reasoning to say that it is acceptable for an individual to go rifling through another person’s home and possessions. The difference between digital and physical possessions diminishes daily.

Instead of terrorizing users on the Internet, hackers could better use their efforts to share their thoughts in creative and intelligent ways through the use of their computer skills. Instead of destroying networks, exposing private information and violating the trust that exists on the Internet, they could create websites and invent new technologies that encourage others to join their cause.