Anonymous

Easily recognizable by their Guy Fawkes masks, one of the most active online hacking groups is known as Anonymous. They officially labeled themselves in 2008 for their first political move as a hactivist group. They posted a video threatening the church of Scientology and eventually mobilized a group 10,000 strong to gather in the streets to protest of the church's attempt to censor the Internet. The message and unification of the group was swift and successful (Paganini). The group's main method of hacking, as used in this initial protest, is know as distributed denial of service (paganinip). This isn't a very complex attack method - it is simply bombarding or "pinging" a particular web page frequently in order to overwhelm the page with traffic. The effect is blocking the online information of the target from all other Internet users.

But who is the "they" behind this powerful hactivism group? Here again we face the issue associated with online anonymity - an aspect of the Internet allowing the members and leaders of different operations to alter constantly. While the group is protected from prosecution, they subject others to the justice of the multitude. So far the group has been able to reveal personal information such as social security numbers, addresses, emails, cell phone numbers, etc. in order to threaten their targets. The ethical dilemma continues as the group watches...

Hacking + activism = Hactivism

We've heard the phrase thrown around in the media, but what is this word splice really about?

                                                     

Coined in 1996, the term hactivism can be defined as "the practice of gaining unauthorized access to a computer system and carrying out various disruptive actions as a means of achieving political or social goals" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hacktivism). Author and security and hacking expert Pierluigi Paganini further describes the phenomena as "the transposition of protest and civil disobedience into cyberspace"(http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/hacktivism-means-and-motivations-what-else/). In place of good old picket lines and on site rallies, online groups use digital sabotage tactics such as information theft, website defacement, typosquatting, data breach, and denial of service attacks to put the action in their activism (http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/6086/cyber-crime/the-hacktivism-phenomenon.html).

There are clear benefits to this system of communicating political and/or social dissent. The anonymous forums allow users to participate in an online democracy - every user's feedback has equal value and every opinion can be voiced without censorship. The Internet also connects and unifies people in all parts of the world to rally for a single cause. This method of communication is more effective and far-reaching than the previous sharing by word of mouth or informative brochures. The forums are a place to inspire change and instigate swift action. One of the intriguing aspects of hactivism for the users is the sense of justice. Hactivists are able to intervene without consequences when they think the nation's legal system fails. In a sense, hacktisim has produced an opportunity for an online Robin Hood. To illustrate this point, Steven Levy, an author and researcher of hacking phenomena, outlines a concept called Hacker Ethic; a code of conduct listing the possible moral motivations for hacktivism:

1. Access to computers—and anything which might teach you something about the way the world works should be unlimited and total. Always yield to the Hands-on Imperative!
2. All information should be free.
3. Mistrust authority—promote decentralization.
4. Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race or position.
5. You can create art and beauty on a computer.
6. Computers can change your life for the better.
http://www.furtherfield.org/features/articles/revisiting-curious-world-art-hacktivism

However, for all the freedoms and potential morally motivation action introduced in this new forum of anonymous communication, there are ever present and overarching dangers of misuse and abuse of the technology. A fundamental concern is the hactivists are unable to be policed. The activist groups can remain unchecked because "it is hard to attribute to each user" (http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/6086/cyber-crime/the-hacktivism-phenomenon.html). There are no clear leaders or consistent members responsible for the actions of the group which makes pinning down the person or group responsible for an attack impossible. Another issue is the selection of targets or prioritizing attacks. Because all voices are contributed, the forums become overwhelmed with opinions. It is the most extreme ideas that gain attention within the group. The creation of the most radical opinions coming from a seemingly unstoppable collective seems like justified cause for concern.

Final Words

Samuel Finley Breese Morse received several international awards such as the Order of the Tower and Sword from Portugal, Gold Medal of Science from Austria, Order of Dannebrog from Denmark, etc. By the time he was eighty years old, the United States decided it was about time to recognize his achievements as well.  Morse statue was erected in New York on June 10th, 1871. On the same day Morse was part of a telegraph presentation, ending it by sending his name, "S F B Morse." The message was soon relayed around the world, demonstrating the full effects of this man's innovation. http://www.telegraph-history.org/samuel-morse/signature.html

Simply Code

The famous distress signal "SOS" is not an abbreviation for anything. The letters were selected for their simplicity in Morse code. (S = ... O = ---).
 http://www.history.com/topics/telegraph

What to Say?

Did you know?

Samuel Morse sent the first telegraph in 1844. The memorable message was, "What hath God wrought?" This was thought to be a reflection of the ubiquitous influence of this new form of media. Credit for this message was given to a young woman named Annie Ellsworth who suggested the phrase from a Bible passage (Numbers 23:23). http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/atthtml/morse2.html

Initial Exploration

This stoic fellow is Samuel Morse, yes just like Morse code. He was one of the principal innovators of the telegraph. His development revolutionized media and communication in the United States. His path to this electric brilliance, however, was not always obvious.



Similar to a college student with an undecided major, Morse's captivation by electicity was coupled with a passion for painting. After marked success in the artistic field he seemed to revisit the scientific field that sparked his interest. One chance encounter on a voyage from Europe to the United States gave him his initial inspiration for his concept of the electric telegraph. He first pursued study of telegraphy in 1832 and over the next five years Morse developed functional models of his telegraph. His version was more efficient and practical than any previously in existence. By 1842 the old devil had finagled Congress out of a $30,000 grant to effectively connect the United States by wire.
http://web.mit.edu/invent/iow/morse.html

The telegraph became a machine capable of sending messages over large distances by disrupting an electromagnetic current. Good old Sam Morse comes in again and develops a system designating each letter of the alphabet a combo of dots and dashes. You hit a button, which halts the current, which moves a marker, to make a written code on the other end - genius! This allowed the users of the machine to communicate with ease. http://www.history.com/topics/telegraph

**SIDE NOTE: I thought it was interesting that the word telegraph is both a noun and a verb. It's completely out of our vernacular now but one might have said "I have to go telegraph this man it's hilarious" instead of "text" or "tweet."

The telegraph was growing obsolete even by the end of the 19th century as newer technologies left the poor thing behind. But the technology did end up laying the groundwork and inspiring further inventions and innovations like the telephone, fax machine, and the Internet. The telegraph was responsible for changing the nation as well as global transfer of information by creating a more instantaneous relay. Anyway, Mr. Morse was worth investigating even in his younger days without such a substantial beard. http://www.history.com/topics/telegraph