Hacktivism

Hacktivism is a portmanteau of the words hack and activism. Hacktivists can be either right wing or left wing and aim to get their agenda across by hacking websites or launching denial of service attacks against websites operated or affiliated with the enemies of their political agenda. Anonymous is a famous example of a hacktivist group.

## Victims of Hacktivism[edit]

Common victims of hacktivism groups include the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). These groups are known for launching backlashes against online file sharing. Following police evictions of Occupy protestors in cities across the US, Anonymous launched a number of denial of service attacks against websites belonging to various police departments and websites with domain names registered to governments of cities.

## Political Slants[edit]

Hacktivism is predominantly left wing. Most widely publicized incidents involving hacktivism groups have been attacks against websites belonging to government entities, police departments, and the Department of Homeland Security in retaliation for backlashes against online file sharing and police evictions of the socialist Occupy Wall Street protestors. Some notable right wing hacktivists include the "Digg Patriots", a much condemned group involved in the censorship of Digg.com.