Hacktivism: is it fashionable again or just a sly cover?
Much of the malicious cyber activity we hear and read about in the news these days tends to be from actors who are focused on some form of personal gain. Whether it is ransomware gangs seeking profit or nation-state actors conducting espionage on government networks, we’ve grown accustomed to viewing malicious hackers in terms of their pursuit of concrete or material goods.
But reports of another kind of hacking, one steeped in the history of the craft and in pursuit of more abstract goals, have seemingly been popping up more and more in the news lately.
Anecdotal reports of “hacktivism” are on the rise, with 2022 witness to a notable resurgence in the space, largely sparked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Over a two-month period from February 18 until April 18 this year, according to recent data by Radware, more than 1,800 denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks were claimed by hacktivists across 80 Telegram channels.
More recently, the practice of hacktivism has seen a resurgence since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with loosely affiliated groups of partisans or volunteers pitted against nation-states. Some of today’s most well-known hacktivist groups include the IT Army, a pro-Ukraine collective that attacks Russian assets; Guacamaya, which has exposed the secrets of Latin American governments and corporations; and SiegedSec, which claims to fight for abortion-rights and has struck states that have enacted bans. Then there is the notorious pro-Russian entity NoName057(16), which consistently engages in targeted DDoS campaigns across various sectors within NATO countries.
Source: SC Magazine