Hackers like what they do, and they’re good at it. Individuals have hobbies because they are interested and enjoy whatever it is they are undertaking. Is that not the same with hacktivists and hackers?
The notion of ‘The Game’ (there is actually an online hacking game also) in relation to hackers is the idea that these individuals want to beat the machine. A hacker hungers for the satisfaction of being superior to that of a machine.
“Rushing through the phone line like heroin through an addict’s veins, a refuge, this is where i belong” ~ The Mentor, Conscience of a Hacker (1986) One of the Founders of the Legion of Doom
This however leads to the hacktivist paradigm of Anarchism, as a modus operandi. The places where these people were exploring and establishing was without any government regulation and hackers knew this. The early subculture was any resistance to any rules, guidelines or regulation. They wanted freedom of information, but instead, they created chaos.
“Yes, I am a criminal. My crime is that of curiosity. My crime is that of outsmarting you, something that you will never forgive me.” ~ The Mentor, Conscience of a Hacker (1986)
An example of this chaos can be identified in the hacking group ‘Poodlecorp‘. The group thirsts for anarchy among the internet, leaving nothing untouched. One of their most recent hacks was towards a number of large YouTube channels, some being, WatchMojo, LeafyIsHere and Redmercy. This involved the mass change of video titles, reading ‘HACKED BY POODLECORP twitter.com/poodlecorp’ and it all being live tweeted by their very own twitter account (talk about speed and scalability using the medium as their message).
“[Hacking] It’s the damage to the institutions that is spooky and disheartening;” ~Sterling, B. (2010). The Blast Shack
Poodlecorp also hacked major gaming servers such as PokémonGO, Blizzard and League of Legends, making their severs crash for approximately 10 hour periods.
This is a malicious attack, they enjoyed it and Poodlecorp understand what they are doing. The archetype of a hacker also manifests this idea of proving ones self in the hacktivist community. So by DDoSing all of these big servers, companies and YouTubers, they are able to gain exposer and add to their own ethos in the community also again adding to anarchical nature of hacking.
As said by my lecturer:
“Anarchism is used as an, aesthetic choice.” ~Ted Mitew
Chaos is a hackers bread and butter.
~ krisesandchrosses ~
krisesandchrosses 
You always have such good examples, it is great to see you do extra research beyond the set readings or the obvious talking points like Anonymous. For where you have said “They wanted freedom of information but instead they created chaos” just wondering if you believe this to be a good or a bad thing? Personally I think pure freedom of information is chaos. I recently watched that movie about Julian Assange called The Fifth Estate and in it he was represented as this pure chaos figure who prioritized the transparency of information regardless of consequence. He is a true anarchist in that sense because he messes up the system to fight for what he believes in. As for hackers like PoodleCorp I see them more as trolls than anarchists because they have no underlying belief or drive. They just do it for the fame and the lols. But that is just me I see anarchism as standing against a power and mindless destruction as simple vandalism. This was an enjoyable read I look forward to your next post.
LikeLike
Great comparison at the beginning, it really makes you question whether hacking can ever really be ethical – especially when confidential information that may invade someone’s security is put into the picture. I can see this post has been thoroughly thought out and researched, and it really got me thinking about why hackers actually do what they do. I never really considered the idea that it might be to do something as simple as ‘proving’ themselves to be good at what they do amongst other hackers.
LikeLike
waiting for the Watchmojo ‘Top 10 cyber hacks’, what will no,1 be?? The efficacy of your blog is no doubt a testament to your accessible and engaging formality/writing style as well as your relevant and interesting examples!
LikeLike