The term Hacktivism was coined by the first Hacktivist group known as The Cult of The Dead Cow. (Manion et al., 2000). Hacktivism can be defined as the seemingly clandestine act of …show more content…
A majority of the population perceive Hacktivists as criminals, while others see them as today’s heroes. Hacktivist groups have warned, rallied and provided a voice for the people. Cult of the Dead Cow penetrated and disabled several firewalls designed to protect China 's internet users from obtaining supposedly censored material from other parts of the world (“China...”). The Cult of the Dead Cow are also responsible for creating the Back Orifice software. Hacktivists designed this software for remote administration of a computer system. Back Orifice has enabled Hacktivists to encrypt, code and exploit injustices around the world (“Back Orifice.”). Similarly, the Hacktivist group, Anonymous, influenced the public through internet platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. Lulz Security (a recently disbanded Hacktivist group) worked to eliminate pornogoraphy and warn corporations of security flaws within their organizations (“By Submitting...”). There are also many notable Hacktivist individuals who enlightened the world through hacking others. The recently deceased, Aaron Swartz, created Rich Site Summary or RSS, and pushed to make most Web files free to the public. Other Hacktivist groups and individuals include, The Jester, Barrett Brown, Sabu, Topiary, Oxblood Ruffin, and many more (Baraniuk, 2016). All these Hacktivist have fought for reform and have remained persistent over multiple years of careful planning. A Hacktivist is the contemporary version of Robin Hood; however, not everyone believes in their bold