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Is the legal system doing enough to enforce the law and protect those who use the internet? Or with todayâs chaotic world combined with the internet, is there a stronger need for a cyber vigilante group?
Brief History
Anonymous is an online activist group that came into existence in 2003 through the website 4chan. The unknown group began as mere internet trolls participating in internet pranks, troll events and website raidingâs on anti-piracy groups (Raza 2016). Each âtrollâ carried out by the unidentified group was posted to the 4chan website the followed by the tag âanonymousâ, thus the name today.
The purpose of Anonymous changed in 2008 with Project Chanology, a campaign against the Church of Scientology (Raza 2016). The Church took legal action to remove a leaked internet video of Tom Cruise, a former Scientology member. Outraged by the internet censorship, Anonymous researched into the Scientologyâs history of copyright litigation to uncover repeated attempts of online information repression (Anonymous vs. Scientology 2016). Anonymous exposed further truths of the Church including plans to remove unfavourable Church records, tactics to imprison journalists challenging the church, and evidence of slave labour (Anonymous vs. Scientology 2016). Internet attacks were launched against the Scientology website in an attempt to gain the worldâs attention (Anonymous vs. Scientology 2016). Since this cyber movement Anonymous has become a renowned hacktivist group.
What differs Anonymous hacktivists from malicious hackers?
A hacker uses computer systems to gain unauthorised access to data (Rouse 2007). Hacktivists also break into computer systems, however, according to Still (2005), hacktivists engage in purposeful acts of âelectronic civil disobedienceâ. These purposeful acts expose truths to the public and media and are establishing a legitimate movement in the hacker community. An increasing number of hackers are joining together in support of varied political causes (Still 2005).
Hacktivist groups such as the worldwide network Anonymous are an essential function of the 21st century citizen. Firstly, Hacktivists oppose internet censorship and promote freedom of speech, secondly, hacktivists actively work to expose criminal activities such as child pornography, and thirdly, hacktivists work against corrupt corporations and governmental sectors to support the need for democracy.
To begin, Anonymous oppose internet censorship and actively promotes the need for freedom of speech as a basic human right. For example, in 2014 Anonymous posted a video âAnonymous â Freedom of Speech 2014â.
The video was created in response to the 2014 revelation of the National Security Agency (NSA) spying on internet users. Â According to Anonymous spying is a deep political issue and oppresses freedom of speech as users begin to censor what they post, giving up liberty for security (Anonymous - Freedom of Speech 2014). It is also believed censoring the internet is detrimental to the growth of society as information and education are oppressed. Â In the past Anonymous has stated âwe're against corporations and government interfering on the internet. We believe it should be open and free for everyoneâ (Fitri, 2011).
This issue has been actively fought by Anonymous in various countries including Turkey. In 2007 a strict law was passed to regulate and censor access to online content in an attempt to âprotect the family and the children from the harms of the internetâ (Kinikoglu 2014, p.47). The law enabled the government to block over 20 000 websites. This situation raised concern that Turkeyâs internet access regime diverts from the basic principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Kinikoglu 2014). Thus, Anonymous has openly âattacked Turkish governmental websites including Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Turkish National Policeâ (Kinikoglu 2014, p.47) in an attempt to bring down the strict censorship and to create public awareness of the issue. Â Not only does Anonymous fight the right for freedom of speech, Anonymous has uncovered several online criminal activities.
Anonymous is a vital 21st century tool for exposing criminal activity. For example, in 2011, Anonymous launched âOperation Darknetâ an act against child pornography sites through TOR (a network of servers that allow an anonymous use of the internet). The anonymity software disguises the identity of its users by âmoving your traffic across different Tor servers, and encrypting that traffic so it isn't traced back toâ its users (Klosowski 2014, para. 4).
With this service, criminal enterprises such as child pornography sites, online drug and illegal weapon marketplaces benefited (Smallridge, Wagner & Crowl 2016). In retaliation Anonymous removed the links to child pornography and issued distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks â âhigh-volume requests for information intended to overload, and thus temporarÂily disable, computersâ (Zajacz 2013, p.494) â Â on âFreedom Hosting whose servers hosted many of the child porn sitesâ (Smallridge et al. 2016, p.62). Anonymous also âfocused its attack on a particular child porn site, Lolita City, by releasing the usernames and activities of 1589 users of the site. The final attack released the IP addresses of nearly 200 usersâ (Smallridge et al. 2016, p.62).
In addition, in 2007 Anonymous uncovered a child predator by the name of Chris Forcand. In the disguise of a 13-year old girl named Jessica the unidentified group chatted with Forcand over MSN. Anonymous contacted âthe police after some members were propositioned by Forcand, who was later arrestedâ (Lukac 2011, para. 2). This undoubtedly shows the importance of the unidentified members in protecting 21st citizens.
Lastly, Hacktivists are critical for the 21st century as the groups work against corporations and corrupt governments sectors to promote democracy and bring justice. For instance, in 2014 Anonymous targeted multiple police units in response to two separate cases of unlawful shootings of two black teenagers, Tamir Rice and Michael Brown (Rogers 2014). Rice, a 12-year-old boy died after a rookie police officer shot him when he aimed a toy gun in the officerâs direction (Stone 2014). The group targeted government websites in efforts to release information on the officers involved.
Furthermore, Anonymous has also fought against hate-mongering organizations such as the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). In 2012, after the Sandy Hook school shooting where â20 of whom were just 6 and 7 years old lost their livesâ (Sieczkowski 2012, para. 1) the WBC tweeted that the group would be singing âpraise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgementâ. Anonymous retaliated by releasing personal information of those within the Church including ânames, street addresses, phone numbers and email addressesâ (Sieczkowski 2012, para. 4).
On a larger scale Anonymous vigorously attack terror groups, specifically ISIS. Anonymous declared a cyber war on ISIS who claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks and Brussels Bombing.
The group announced the silence of thousands of Twitter accounts and hacked websites directly linked to ISIS (Mills 2016). In a video Anonymous declared âwe will track you down, we will find you, we are everywhere and we are more than you can imagine. Be afraid." (Mills 2016, para. 10). Anonymous then proceeded to announce everyone can contribute to the groupâs efforts by standing up against discrimination. Since this movement the view of Anonymous has changed from malicious pranksters to a much needed activist group. This is due to the aims of the group now aligning with the western standard of ISIS being the common enemy (de Bunt 2016). Anonymous brings âattention to freedom, violations of human rights and to protect the responsible flow of information on the internetâ (Fitri 2011, p.2).
It is clear Anonymous is not a malicious, aimless hacker group. Anonymous âseek to show the general public and the media that they are standing up against the establishment to protect the rights of people around the world that are endangered by national or corporate oppression and greedâ (Still 2005).
Anonymous is a needed advocate for freedom of speech and equality shown by the groups resistance to internet censorship. The countless efforts of Anonymous work to expose online criminal activities, and bring awareness to corrupt corporations and government sectors in order to reach global democracy.
References:
Anonymous â Freedom of Speech 2014, video, OfficialAnonymousTV1, 28 Febuary, viewed 20 September 2016 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKAX-VVMhuQ>
Anonymous vs. Scientology 2016, viewed 20 September 2016, <http://exscientologykids.com/anonymous/>
De Bunt E, 2016, âThe effect of the perfect enemy: Anonymousâ representation in the news mediaâ, Department of Informatics and Media.
Fitri N, 2011, âDemocracy Discourses through the Internet Communication: Understanding the Hacktivism for the Global Changingâ, Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 1-20.
Kinikoglu B 2014, âEvaluating the regulation of access to online content in Turkey in the context of freedom of speechâ, Journal of International Commercial Law and Technology, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 36-55.
Klosowski T, 2014, âWhat is TOR and Should I use it?â viewed 20 September 2016, <http://lifehacker.com/what-is-tor-and-should-i-use-it-1527891029>
Lukac M, 2011, âAnonymous takes on child pornography sitesâ viewed 22 September 2016, <http://www.ibtimes.com/anonymous-takes-child-pornography-sites-360614 >
Mills K, 2016, âBrussels attacks: Anonymous declares war on ISIS in chilling video vowing 'we will find you'â, viewed 22 September 2016, < http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/brussels-attacks-anonymous-declares-isis--7615029 >
Raza, A 2016, The Anonymous Group: What is it and How big is it, viewed 20 September 2016, <https://www.hackread.com/anonymous-group-what-is-it-and-how-big-is-it/>
Rogers A, 2014, âWhat Anonmous is Doing in Fergusonâ viewed 22 September 2016, < http://time.com/3148925/ferguson-michael-brown-anonymous/>
Rouse, M 2007, Hacktivism, viewed 20 September 2016 <http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/hacktivism>
Sieczkowski C, 2012, âAnonymous Targets Westboro Baptist Church After Newtown Vigil Protest Threatâ viewed 22 September 2016, < http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/westboro-baptist-church-hacked-anonymous-protest-newtown-shooting-victims-funerals_n_2315070>
Still B 2005, âHacking for a Causeâ, First Monday, vol 10., no. 9, pp.1-13.
Stone J, 2014, âTamir Rice Shooting Inspires Anonymous Hack On Cleveland Websitesâ viewed 22 Septermber 2016, < http://www.ibtimes.com/tamir-rice-shooting-inspires-anonymous-hack-cleveland-websites-1728681 >
âWhat is Wikileaks?â 2015, viewed 21 September 2016, <https://wikileaks.org/What-is-Wikileaks.html>
Zajacz R, 2013, âWikiLeaks and the problem of anonymity: A network control perspectiveâ, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 489-505.
Image Reference:
Anonymous â Message to the Citizens of the World IV 2016, viewed 23 September 2016, <http://beforeitsnews.com/politics/2016/08/anonymous-message-to-the-citizens-of-the-world-iv-please-share-2830766.html >
For the research stage of my assignment I first used Google to develop a general understanding of my topic. I found information on the term âhacktivismâ, and the online group âAnonymousâ.
Once I had established an understanding I used the University Library website to find relevant journal articles.
Next I used a website called âbubbl.usâ to form a mind map of the pros and cons of Anonymous. As I researched further I established there were more positives to the group.
I did try using Diigo but unfortunately the website and I didnât work well together.
For a referencing tool I downloaded EndNote, but again, the software did not work well for me.
For my next blog post I will be delving into the idea of online Hacktivists, specifically focusing on the world wide hacktivist network âAnonymousâ.
The question I have chosen to focus my essay on is: Is âAnonymousâ a necessary function of 21st Century citizens to keep check on governments and corporations?
Activism in general has always fascinated me; I admire the passion held by the individuals fighting for their cause, fighting for change.
In recent years I have become more and more exposed to the term âhacktivismâ. âHacktivism is essentially online activism, however, rather than the social action being confined to a local or national scale, online activism has the ability to reach international territories through the internet and is a global affair.
There are no borders to hacktivism. As we become more reliant on technology and online systems, online hacktivism will be more prevalent in society. Hacktivist groups like Anonymous will only gain more power.Â
To say this is an interesting topic is an understatement. Â
It canât be denied; with the Internet we have the ability to connect and access information and data from anywhere and in any form. From images, to videos, to strangers: if you have the right skills it is all available.
The Government is aware of this, and have such plans to manage and censor the Internet.
Firstly, is it possible to censor the internet? Well, yes. North Korea has very strict Internet censorship where it is only permitted with special authorisation. Everyday âNorth Koreans aren't allowed to access the global public internetâ (McCarthy 2015, para. 3). But letâs not get too extreme here.
Where does the Government draw the line between what is appropriate and not?
From what I have researched the Labour and Liberal Party have a similar aim when it comes to filtering the internet.
Both parties plan to protect children and stop adults from accessing illegal content such as child pornography and material related to terrorism (Foley 2008)Â
Of course, the execution of each parties plan is different.
In 2007, the Telecommunications Minister of the Labour Party, Stephen Conroy, announced new measures were to be put in place to protect children on the Internet. âClean feedsâ or ISP filtering will be mandatory for all internet providers to keep homes and schools free from pornography and violet websites (âConroy announces mandatory internet filters to protect childrenâ 2007)
On the other hand, the Liberal Party will âencourage mobile phone and internet service providers to make available software which parents can choose to install on their own devices to protect their children from inappropriate materialâ (Grimson 2013)
Either way, why are people getting so worked up about this censorship?
Well, it has to do with GetUp!
GetUp! is an independent organisation that is âworking towards a thriving democracy in Australia led by the values and hopes of everyday peopleâ. The group is protesting the censorship as it is believed the Government will store personal data that runs the risk of misuse (GetUp! 2016).
One campaign run by GetUp! is that Australians are âCitizens, not suspectsâ (GetUp! 2016)
Well if youâve got nothing to hide... In my opinion, it is better to have the Government access my information than to have a child access or be accessed by inappropriate materials on the web.
Every five years all Australian households take part in a census that collects statistical information on the Australian population (âThe 2016 Census: How does it work and do I have to take part?â 2012). The data collected relates to marital status, family size, occupation, languages spoken and countries of birth.
âFor more than 100 years, the Census has provided a snapshot of Australia, showing how our nation has changed over time, allowing us to plan for the futureâ (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016, para. 2)
This year, on August 9 2016 it was set to include 24 million people in 10 million households (âThe 2016 Census: How does it work and do I have to take part?â 2012).
However, this year was different to the previous 100 years. This year the census occurred online.
Additionally, for the first time, the ABS announced in December 2015, all names and addresses will be saved on the database for up to four years (#CensusFail: Why people are worried about the censusâ, 2016)
With the changes, many people had their doubts and privacy concerns about the new system; Will the site crash? How secure is our information?Â
And sure enough, on August 9, the census site crashed preventing thousands of people from completing the survey (Census 2016: ABS website crashes in #censusfail, 2016)
Hundreds headed to twitter to spread their outrage, holding the government accountable through memes, and comic jibes with the hashtag #censusfail (Pearce, 2016)
âOthers poked fun at $55,000 spent on testing the website -- which the Australian Bureau of Statistics had earlier boasted could withstand double the amount of traffic that would be requiredâ (Pearce, 2016, para. 4)
The Australian Bureau of Statistics later denied the server crashed and was instead shut down. The shut down occurred as the site was âtargeted by foreign hackers in a malicious attackâ (Killalea, 2016)
Since, the âminister responsible for the Census has denied that the national survey was "hacked" or "attacked" and claims no information was gained. (Killalea, 2016)
Was the online census worth the money, and risk?
According to this news paper article, ABS figures reveal the collection rate of the 2016 census fails to match previous years.
Through Survey Monkey I created a questionnaire on the subject of Social Media Privacy. The survey was designed to gain an insight into the position my friends and family have on the topic.
This multiple choice survey was uploaded to my blog, and shared on one of my social media platforms.
Interestingly, the survey did not receive as much recognition as I would have hoped.
From the results collected social media users prefer to keep their profile as private and are not concerned with their information being stored for the sites use. In relation to employers, social media users do not filter what is posted on their profile and are not concerned with future employers seeing past posts.
"The death of privacyâ is an interesting article by Alex Preston. It is a bit lengthy but the overall message that we have signed away our privacy through the use of the Internet links with the findings of the Social Media Privacy survey. Aware that their âcommunications are being monitoredâ, users continue to share their complete life from financial interactions to social. As it has become the ânormâ less people are concerned.
I have never thought I am the type to constantly use technology to communicate, I donât keep up with the latest âtech trendsâ such as the new iPhone or the most popular apps, Iâd prefer to connect with someone face-to-face over a coffee.
I will admit, I have had a Facebook account since the age of eleven but rarely used the site and spent most of my time with people in the real world.
Recently I moved out of home and to a new city and with my lifestyle change I have come to realise just how much I actually depend on technology to communicate.
I use it to organise meet ups with new friends, to see what my friends from home are doing and to âlikeâ their new selfie. Most importantly I use technology to communicate and âconnectâ with my family.
Thirty years ago the way I am living and using technology would have seemed impossible or unimaginable. Communication technologies are no longer seen as a luxury item owned solely by hobbyists as they were in the 1980s (Swalwell 2012).
Now, at least once a week I video chat with mum to catch up. We talk about our day and the days in between. We ask how we are, and talk about work and university. Our conversations usually last about an hour or two and feel significant. We connect effortlessly.
But, does the ability to simply connect whenever, wherever alter our connection?
The conversations we have often end with one of us running out the door, or being pulled away by another circumstance in our own real world. Â
Friends phone me at least once a week and we go through the same process. How are you, how was your day, what did you do over the weekend, what are your plans for this week. The conversations we have also feel significant but at times during the conversation I can feel that they are distracted by something in front of them - perhaps they are cooking or looking at another device or somebody walked into the room.
With my increased use of communication technology, I have become aware to the fact that it doesnât create a connection. There will always be an outside factor that interrupts. The intimacy of chatting with a friend over a glass of wine, or laughing together after witnessing the same event cannot be replicated over a mechanical device.
In addition to the last video shared, this Youtube video âCan we Auto-Correct Humanity?â by Prince Ea also explores the implications of our âaddiction to technologyâ.
His message isnât that technology is bad or that we should stop the use of it altogether but that we should be aware of how much we let it consume our time and impact our relationships.
This thought provoking TEDTalk by Sherry Turkleâs discusses how technologies are redefining society. In her words, âour mobile devices are taking us places where we donât want to goâ and are so âpsychologically powerful, they donât only change what we do but who we areâ (Turkle, 2012).
Turkle touches on points such as, people being together while not being together, and through editing and deleting technology allows us to customise and present ourselves as we want to be.
People are removing themselves by going into their phones as there is an illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship. âWe expect more from technology and less from each otherâ.
Also discussed is the new mentality emerging with New Communication Technologies: âI share therefore I amâ and the problems it brings.
By now you probably know a little info about me from my blog and what my blog is about - communication technology!
Well I thought I should tell you more. I have recently moved away from my home town to study in a large city with more diverse opportunities - yay for me! (my communication technologies thoughts since moving here)
I am studying a double degree with a Bachelor of Business majoring in Marketing and a Bachelor of Public Relations and Communication (man, that is a mouthful).
I would classify myself as a member of the environmental and animal rights movement. In saying that, my career goal is to work with an ethical organisation or to eventually become a journalist.
