Thoughts on Hacktivism?

[ricardonest]

With the recent SOPA and PIPA issue and the take down of the website Megaupload, we had a case where a group called Anonymous bringing down government and media websites. From a technical standpoint, they didn't anything per se illegal because they didn't hack into their systems rather they overwhelmed the systems and pushed them to the limit where the websites crashed. This can be simply done by just doing the typical thing a user would do, such as searching for something on a site, but at a mass and aggressive level.

Any thoughts on this? Should it be considered illegal even though they didn't hack into anything?

For more background, here goes an article:
Anonymous and the rise of hacktivism

 

[whitehall]

The government just ain't that smart either in big business or computer savvy. Keep that in mind when considering what happened to Fannie Mae and how a teenage nerd hacker can run rings around systems that are created by a gigantic bureaucracy.

 

[waltky]

Dat's why Granny always got her triple A battery flashlight near at hand...

U.S. concerned about Anonymous power grid attack
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21,`12 (UPI) -- U.S. officials are apparently concerned the group Anonymous may launch a cyberattack against the country's electrical grid, The Wall Street Journal reported.

National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander discussed the possibility of an Anonymous-led attack in meetings with the White House and other officials, the Journal said. While Alexander has not publicly commented on the electrical grid issue, he has mentioned the "hacktivist" group's ability to go after computer networks. Anonymous, for its part, said it has no plans to disrupt the electrical grid. "Ridiculous! Why should Anonymous shut off power grid? Makes no sense! They just want to make you feel afraid," a post on the AnonOps blog said.

The NSA's concerns follow fears Anonymous also had plans to shut down the Internet on March 31, something the group also denied, PC Magazine reported. "GlobalBlackOut is another Fake Operation. No intention of #Anonymous to cut Internet," @AnonOps tweeted Tuesday. Anonymous has, however, targeted Web sites of U.S. agencies in protest of some of their actions.

Following the shutting down of the Megaupload file site by U.S. authorities, Anonymous launched successful denial-of-service attacks against the Department of Justice Web site and earlier this month disrupted the CIA Web site. The NSA has declined to comment on the electrical grid matter, PC Magazine said.

Read more: U.S. concerned about Anonymous power grid attack - UPI.com

 

[Ringel05]

With the recent SOPA and PIPA issue and the take down of the website Megaupload, we had a case where a group called Anonymous bringing down government and media websites. From a technical standpoint, they didn't anything per se illegal because they didn't hack into their systems rather they overwhelmed the systems and pushed them to the limit where the websites crashed. This can be simply done by just doing the typical thing a user would do, such as searching for something on a site, but at a mass and aggressive level.

Any thoughts on this? Should it be considered illegal even though they didn't hack into anything?

For more background, here goes an article:
Anonymous and the rise of hacktivism

You still hurt people, owners, employees and clients so yes it's illegal. Hopefully you and all of your friends are caught and spend a long time in jail with no access to a computers or the web. Your activities hurt people, they cost businesses, customers and taxpayers money, sometimes lots of it so the harm you do far outweighs any good you might intend. If you were adults you'd know this.

 

[editec]

Denial of services ought to be a crime.

Even when the people doing it are doing it to websites you don't personally approve of.

If course I understand that one doens't topple a corrupt regime by obeying the law, but I am not espeically comforted by heros whose names I don't know, working behind the scenes, either.

Remember that Anonymous' techniques can work against you as easily as for you. folks.

 

[Truthmatters]

Our systems are flawed.

If our systems are flawed we need to unflaw them.

weakness will be exploited by someone.

sometimes exposing a weakness so it can be fixed is good and sometimes exposing a weakness can mean the wrong person takes advantage of it only to do harm.

There is no black and white

 

[midcan5]

Lots of things are not strictly illegal but wrong. Consider neglect of whatever and its outcome. Negligent or other degrees of wrongdoing are punishable in a court of law. Consider too intent, 'oh jeez, I didn't realize I'd burn your house down too.' Or crash into your car? Or bring down your business?'

 

[waltky]

Givin' China a taste of their own medicine...

Anonymous says it hacked Chinese government sites
5 Apr.`12 — China was struggling Thursday to restore several government websites that international hacking group Anonymous says it attacked in an apparent protest against Chinese Internet restrictions.

On a Twitter account established in late March, Anonymous China listed the websites it says it hacked over the last several days. They include government bureaus in several Chinese cities, including in Chengdu, a provincial capital in southwest China. Some of the sites were still blocked Thursday, with error messages shown. Anonymous activists have defaced websites around the world. They are engaged in political causes, including opposition to the global clampdown on file-sharing sites and defense of the secret-spilling site WikiLeaks.

Some websites that Anonymous said it attacked were working Thursday, and government officials denied the sites were ever hacked. China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team was not available for immediate comment. In a message left on one of the hacked Chinese sites — cdcbd.gov.cn, a home page for Chengdu's business district — the hackers expressed anger with the Chinese government for restrictions placed on the Internet.

"Dear Chinese government, you are not infallible, today websites are hacked, tomorrow it will be your vile regime that will fall," the English-language message read. "What you are doing today to your Great People, tomorrow will be inflicted to you. With no mercy." The message also offered instructions on how to circumvent China's restrictions on its Internet. The government tries to block Internet users in China from seeing social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Information on politically sensitive topics is often blocked.

Source

 

[buckeye45_73]

Our systems are flawed.

If our systems are flawed we need to unflaw them.

weakness will be exploited by someone.

sometimes exposing a weakness so it can be fixed is good and sometimes exposing a weakness can mean the wrong person takes advantage of it only to do harm.

There is no black and white

Come one, that's like saying if you dont wanna get killed, dont stand in front of the gun. Yeah the systems may be flawed, but it still doesnt grant you the right to exploit them.