As history has shown time and again, tools
made for the betterment of mankind will always be utilized by others with more
malicious intent. It is the way of the world and the nature of humanity, and
the internet is no exception.
Hacking is one of the most devastating ways
one can hurt and affect someone's life. As the internet is an indispensible
tool (especially in tech-centric Singapore), everyone is contacted
to it somehow. Whether it is a relatively trivial thing like an instagram
account or a more important thing like a bank account, a lot of personal
information about someone is available readily on the internet if he or she is
not careful. Everything can be used to negatively affect a persons life.
Hackers can target private compromising photos stored on social media sites in
private albums or get the persons e-banking account information, both can
adversely affect a persons life, ruining reputation or finance.
You would think hacking is some complicated
process understood and used by nasty nerds, and that it existed only as a seedy
underground scene. A simple google search will show the total opposite. Many
sites and articles laud how easy it is to pick up hacking. A layman could
probably do it after learning some basic coding. Think about it, you'd need a
certain minimum level of smarts to be able to hack competently. So what happens
when you get a bunch of smart people collaborating on a task? They advance the
techniques and improve on the process. Toolkits and software made for the sole
purpose of hacking are easily available for download. Its as easy as going to
your nearest convenience store to pick up amenities.
These are some of the blogs and articles
about learning hacking:
Hacking
as a Hobby
These days, there are legitimate classes
that teach you how to hack, although the purposes here are more defensive than
offensive. It is to help people be aware of how they can potentially be
attacked by hackers.
They even have competitions, here is an
article that talks about a competition that was about hacking our beloved
internet browsers Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Internet Explorer. They
basically hack what we use on a daily basis for shits and giggles - very
comforting, I know.
Anonymous
Of course, one cannot talk about hacking
without mentioning Anonymous, the (in)famous hacktivist group that has made
many headlines in the past few years. They have had their say in almost every
major event about or related to the internet.
It is a faceless group that strikes from
the shadows without warning, and is sometimes more affectionately known as
Anon. It strongly opposes internet censorship and surveillance, and has hacked
various government websites and major security corporations.
Its activities are so numerous, significant
and impactful, but I shall summarize a few of the biggest ones.
Megaupload Closure
On January 19, 2012, Megaupload, a website that
provides file-sharing services, was shut down by the US Department of Justice
(DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In the hours following the
shutdown, Anonymous took down the sites of the DOJ and FBI, as well as the
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Recording Industry Association
of America (RIAA), and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) using distributed
denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
Anonymous felt these organizations were
opposing a free and open internet by shutting down Megaupload. This was
happening simultaneously with the protests of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
in America.
It would have devastating consequences on the privacy of online users if it had
passed.
Facebook / Zynga Fiasco
In October 2012, Anonymous threatened to take down Facebook and release Zynga’s portfolio
of games for free to the masses. The reason for the attack, which they called
‘#OP MaZynga’, was due to Zynga’s announcement that it would lay off 1,000
employees and begin outsourcing work to third parties in a bid to save money
and stay afloat. Anoymous' actions raised the awareness of Zynga's missteps and
mistreatment of their staff.
Syrian Civil War
On November 30, 2012, Anonymous declared an
operation to shut down websites of the Syrian government, in response to an
Internet blackout the previous day believed to be imposed by Syrian authorities
in an attempt to silence opposition groups of the Syrian civil war. This was
right after they had just done something similar to the Israeli government.
Just as good tools can be used for ill
intentions. Bad tools such as hacking can be put to good use as well, to punish
the wrong doers of the world. It is a way for the everyday man to hit back at
the big organizations and governments whenever they have done wrong.
Hacking is good and bad...but mostly bad.
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