Hacktivism: Beyond WikiLeaks

Hacktivism: Beyond WikiLeaks

www.middle-east-online.com

WikiLeaks is not the one-off creation of a solitary genius; it is just one production of decades of collaborative work by people engaged in applying computer hacking to political causes - in particular, to the principle that information-hoarding is evil...

...an informal network of revolutionary individuals bound by a shared ethic and culture.

..."hacker ethic," (includes) the following two maxims: All information should be free; mistrust authority and promote decentralization.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
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blogs.computerworld.com
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Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
4Chan-Coordinated DDoS Attack Brings MPAA Website Down
RIAA Goes Offline, Joins MPAA As Latest Victim Of Successful DDoS Attacks

Anonymous at 4chan is a group of hackers acting in the tradition upheld by Wikileaks founder Assange.

This week, Anon/4chan shut down the RIAA, MPAA and ACS:Law Solicitors, a British law firm under investigation for sending legal threats to people suspected of copyright infringement. The firm's methods have been described as "blackmail." ...This after Anon/4chan went after the "tea Party" for stealing their slogan, "We are Legion."

So why do these people do what they do? Are they lefties? Right? What?

Well, no - they just believe that information should be free - " it needs to be placed in the hands of the general public."

The political compass of these hacktivist groups has never pointed true right or true left -- at least by our typical way of charting the political landscape. They have been consistently unified in their adherence to the basic hacker principles as outlined by Levy and The Mentor in the 1980s: Information should not be hoarded by powerful constituencies -- it needs to be placed in the hands of the general public.

Assange's philosophy blends in seamlessly with the hacktivist tradition: It can't be characterized in terms of left versus right so much as individual versus institution. In particular, Assange holds that truth, creativity, etc. are corrupted by institutional hierarchies, or what he calls "patronage networks," and that much of illegitimate power is perpetuated by the hoarding of information.

Is there a "boss" and "master controller"?

Nope. Just a legion of like-minded people working for the common good.

...the media and government agencies believe there is a single protagonist to be concerned with -- something of a James Bond villain, if you will -- when in fact the protagonist is something altogether different: an informal network of revolutionary individuals bound by a shared ethic and culture.

In the words of Thomas Jefferson:

Information is the currency of democracy.

The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.

The Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

NOTE: Jefferson was saying banksters are taking from those who work and giving to those who do not - he was talking about usury, not any welfare system (there wasn't one). The usury concept can be applied to information as a "commodity" with equal contempt.







www.middle-east-online.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Hey this is a good topic..

I believe those people who do what they do do what they do for the common good of many..
And I agree with them if they believe that knowledge should be free. it should be I do not understand why it isnt..

I did art just because and I show it for free online.. I am sure some idiot is making money off it but its the part that I put it out there for others to view and enjoy, not because i can make a buck off it..

I also think that is why some people here post here, like the tinwiki or something.. They dont get paid for the work they do, they do it because they believe knowledge should be free also.. regardless of thier views of making this site better or whatever in the end it is yet still free.

Anyway.. Good post again..

anon is a prime example of the power of "we"

This is how it begins folks. People start to realize they hold the power, first on the net. The next thing you know these same people will begin to reject their tyrants and stand up for what is really right.

Thanks for your comments guys.

...CBC is running a doc called "Meltdown" - about the lead up to, fallout from, the "global financial crisis." ...It centralizes a LOT of footage showing riots and huge numbers of very angry people all around the world. Just caught parts of it but hope to watch the whole thing soon.

"Meltdown" clarifies that TPTB are running quite scared, expecting more, and tightening the reins big time. ...They have this idea that people need to be controlled to prevent chaos.

The TPTB are polarized - national governments on one hand, global corporate interests on the other. The "national governments" camp includes 'cooperative' agencies like the UN; the " global corporate interests" faction and global corporations are backed up by the WTO, World Bank, etc..

...National governments are trying to "negotiate" and "cooperate" with global corporate interests, but they're pretty much over a barrel - they already gave away the store in "free" trade agreements. ...The "global corporate interests" used national governments to create international laws supporting global corporate government, now they're going for total control...

So national governments are boxed - they need business, and an "economy," but they also want to protect their citizens, democracy and their countries. Global corporate interests are squeezing, trying to neutralize democracy, destroy individual rights and freedoms.

“The central challenge for most countries in their engagement with new forms of global governance is not how to replace the state in international politics, but rather how states regain their regulatory role.”

South African Think Tank Participant
Global Governance 2025: At a Critical Juncture

This is the situation that Assange/Wikileaks and Anonymous/4chan are fighting against - information has been defined as a commodity under international law in "free" trade agreements.

But it's not over yet - there are still legal i's to dot and t's to cross - so the Hacktivists are NOT clearly breaking definitive laws.

Let's hope those laws are never finalized and applied globally.

UPDATE: 9/24/10

These guys don't give up...

A great DoS (Denial of Service) battle is currently transpiring as 4chan users and other supporters have targeted Aiplex once again, taking the website offline. Aiplex, along with the MPAA, RIAA, BPI, Davenport Lyons and ACS:Law websites have all been targeted in a series of attacks that started over the weekend.

Dubbed "Operation Payback is a Bitch" the series of DoS attacks are in retaliation for the alleged MPAA hiring of Indian firm Aiplex, which organizers say launched a DoS attack of their own against The Pirate Bay.

New Slurry of DoS Attacks Against Aiplex

ACS:Law Anti-Piracy Law Firm Torn Apart By Leaked Emails

Written by enigmax on September 25, 2010
Earlier this week, anti-piracy lawyers ACS:Law had their website taken down by a 4chan DDoS attack. Adding insult to injury, owner Andrew Crossley was harassed at home in the middle of the night by prank phone calls. Now, through a fault with his website, hundreds of megabytes of private emails have been exposed to the public and uploaded to The Pirate Bay. To those hoping that this is a MediaDefender-type fiasco all over again, trust us – it is.

MORE

Anonymous Attacks Second Law Firm Involved in Copyright Litigations

A London-based law firm called Davenport Lyons is the new victim of the Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) campaign launched by an Internet group known as Anonymous against organizations supporting anti-piracy efforts.

...Note: great stuff in the page posted above: TorrentFreak, including leaked emails.