Throughout the span of time, a need to express one’s opinion and beliefs  has been present. However, this expression can come in a  variety of forms , some of which  may be frowned upon by others. One such form of self expression that has arisen is called “Hacktivism.” Hacktivism is a form of activism that uses the internet as a medium in order to project an individual's voice and still remain anonymous. Throughout this report hacktivism will be examined on a legal, ethical and moral standard in order to support the claim that hacktivism is positively impacting society, even if it may be illegal it can also be majorly beneficial to society. Although many may be against the claims made in this paper, the true choice is for the public to decide the true effects of hacktivism.

First, to understand the full effect of hacktivism , one must understand the many ways in which actions on the internet can impact everyday life.  In Christian Beck’s  "Web of Resistance: Deleuzian Digital Space and Hacktivism,” the author  examines the internet in its many different forms. Beck states “Growing dissatisfaction with State governance and the increasing commercialization of culture will continue to fuel resistances to State and corporate institutions. As opposed to street demonstrations, or in conjunction with them, online protests in the form of DDoS attacks will hold an important place in the coming struggles against hegemonic State and corporate power.” (346) Here, Beck is explaining how as corporate and state power increases in the digital world, so too will the resistance to it .  Becks article gives explanations of the potentials of the rhizomatic internet and how it is important that they are being opposed as he is quoted saying “The Internet is a powerful tool.”(347) He goes on to explain how as socieity advances toward becoming more dependant on the Internet,“the necessity for tools to smooth space and free us from the constraints of corporate and State determination rapidly increases.”(Beck 347)  Later on in his paper he states “To achieve these ends, however, actions such as DDoS attacks are necessary to challenge and change the strictures of corporate and statist oppressive regimes.”(Beck 347) The ability to stand against an established state is an essential human right. In the beginning of a report by Tiffany Knapp in The New England Law Review, she states “Hacktivism is an iteration of civil disobedience ,a time honored tradition in our democracy.” (259) Knapp’s report explains how hacktivism can be used to pressure political targets in order to influence their opinions. It is a key element in inspiring social change in modern  society. Knapp goes through a few incidences where hacktivism was used to achieve a political goal. One event Knapp references is from March 2013, where a man was jailed for revealing an AT&T security  problem to a reporter. However this is only a minor example of the beneficial effects of hacktivism. Knapp briefly mentions how hacktivist have helped to endite 

 and jail many wrongdoers such as regime leaders  and rapists. Another topic Knapp discusses is the legal standpoint on Hacktivism as well as well as Any other issues involved within hacktivism. Knapp states that “Hacktivists are treated harshly within  the criminal justice system because the technology they use is generally misunderstood.”(259) As Knapp’s report continues she goes on to say “Despite these misunderstandings and the illegality of hacking,there are benefits to hacking in a digital world.”(263) 

While there may be few who support hacktivism, the number is far outweighed by the number of those against it. In Tracy Caldwell’s article she says “Hacktivism is no longer driven by well-meaning amateurs or bored teenagers, if it ever was.”(12) Caldwell uses many different examples in her article including at one point referencing the terrorist group ISIS and their use of hacktivism in some of their acts of terrorism.Throughout her article Caldwell uses numerous people as sources in order to support her claim. At one point she references a security researcher who says hacktivism can be used  “to make money, steal data, disrupt services, deface resources or simply make a social and political point. I don't think this will bring an end to casual web defacements, or the use of the web for social and political protest. But the same tactics are likely to be used by attackers of all kinds. In this sense, it's hard to tell whether an attack can be defined as ‘hacktivism’ (ie, social and political protest), or if it's part of a wider campaign.”(Caldwell 12) Another reference in Caldwell’s report comes from security researcher James Maud , who explains how hacktivism originated as a form of political protest and free expression, however over time it has changed so that is not so much the case anymore. The article continues to elaborate on how hacktivism has evolved from being harmless becoming about breaching security and causing legitimate damage to the targets reputation and potentially their well being, at one point going far enough to call hacktivism a “threat source.” Caldwell's report continues even farther to draw correlations between tensions in the middle east and the increasing number of cyberattacks present there. As her article continues Caldwell has a quote from someone saying that “The majority of these attacks are now well-planned and that should send the message to us as a society that with the rapidity and complexity of these new threats, awareness is of utmost importance.”(17) CAldwell references the use of social media to phish information and exploit it in order to harvest people’s credentials. Another article written by Noah Hampson defines hacktivism by saying “The term hacktivism has been defined as the nonviolent use for political ends of ‘illegal or legally ambiguous digital tools’ like website defacements, information theft, website parodies, DoS attacks, virtual sit-ins, and virtual sabotage.”(514) HAmpson goes on to discuss hacktivism in great detail in order to make an argument against it .Hampson says“The majority of these attacks are now well-planned and that should send the message to us as a society that with the rapidity and complexity of these new threats, awareness is of utmost importance.”(511) However, Hampson does refer to a specific incident where hacktivism was used to take down the website “wikileaks”,a known whistleblowing site,  in 2010. This specific attack was a “DoS”, or denial of service, issued by a hacker in order to shut down the website to protect the identities of American troops overseas. This was a major event in the beginning of the rise of hacktivism to the public eye. Although it may not have always been a big deal ,hacktivism has always been present . In fact , Hampson makes reference to an incident in 1996 where the Department of Justice’s website was hacked and changed to say “Free speech in the land of the free? Arms in the home of the brave? Privacy in a state of wiretaps and government intrusion? Unreasonable searches? We are a little behind our 1984 deadline, but working slowly one amendment at a time. It is hard to trick hundreds of millions of people out of their freedoms, but we should be complete within a decade.”(515) This specific incident was a response to the “Communications Decency act of 1996.” Hampson  makes a very solid argument both for and against the subject of hacktivism. In a report by John Postill, he discusses in great detail numerous amounts of cyberattacks from 1994-2014 and the after effects of them. Postill, discusses the origins of hacktivism, including the names of many notorious hacktivist organizations and their historical importance. 

As it can be clearly seen there are many benefits to the presence of the hacktivist community to the world and society itself. However, along with these benefits comes the potential for a variety of complications, including cyber attacks. While it may be unclear to some the legal ramifications of participating in hacktivism. It is clear that it could be considered a form of self-expression and free speech. Whether or not the effect upon society is positive or negative is for the individual to decide. As many have shown through their numerous reports there are pros and cons to the hacktivist community. 
