Writer: Nuttawut Kulkaew

Editor: Wittaya Wonglor

Hacktivists are hackers who are also activists, using their cyber skills for political change. Unlike hackers working for the state, notoriety, or criminal profit, they only hack for political motives. Only 26% of hackers worldwide are inspired by politics but they are gaining attention from many groups, especially amid current turmoil. National cybersecurity is also an increasingly sensitive topic.

Hacktivists can apply multiple tactics to disrupt a target, such as sending protest messages or taking over social media platforms and harassing account pages. They can ruin a target's website or platform through distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. They may disclose hidden illegal data, government secrets, or personal information to the public.

It’s unclear if hacking for political change is desirable. Hacktivism can access and expose critical information, such as environmental data, or help campaigns such as #BlackLiveMatter by sharing video clips. But even with good intentions such actions often harm innocent people as well as governments or private organizations damaged by online harassment. Cyber warfare has broken out over the Russian campaign in Ukraine. All cybercrimes should be prosecuted.

Implications for the future:

- Hacking will become a political tactic, especially for young hackers who have grown up in the digital world.

- The government's cybersecurity defense system should be strengthened. This includes stipulating penalties and controlling the conduct of hackers.

- Transparent disclosure of information and free space to express opinions are ways governments can focus public opinion. Hacktivism may play a key role in helping governments work more efficiently and clearly.

Reference:

- https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/hacktivist

- https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/11/hacktivists-are-back/

- https://www.alexandrasamuel.com/dissertation/pdfs/Samuel-Hacktivism-chapter6.pdf

- https://therecord.media/a-new-wave-of-hacktivists-is-turning-the-surveillance-state-against-itself/

- https://theconversation.com/a-decade-since-the-year-of-the-hacktivist-online-protests-look-set-to-return-163329

- https://wayback.archive-it.org/9650/20200403205550/http://p3-raw.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/bhopal-protests-move-online/

- https://sgpjournal.mgimo.ru/2020/2020-7/hacktivism

- https://virtualarmour.com/hacktivism-what-it-means-for-businesses/

- https://www.secalliance.com/blog/the-changing-landscape-of-hacktivism

- https://www.toolbox.com/it-security/security-general/articles/russia-ukraine-conflict-hacktivism/

- https://red.msudenver.edu/2022/the-future-of-cyberwar/

- https://www.hackmageddon.com/2022/06/01/april-2022-cyber-attacks-statistics/

- https://arxiv.org/pdf/2202.07419.pdf

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