Hacktivists Part II

So last week we discussed the real threats that hacking organizations like LulzSec and Anonymous present and an emerging viewpoint that hackers should be hired by companies and governments to ensure cyber-security. This new perspective essentially advocates that we need to fight fire with fire. I also said last week that we would take a closer look at the hackers themselves. Well, for those of us who have seen the very intimidating, incognito youtube messages that Anonymous posts online, we ask ourselves, “What does this tells us about the hackers? How scary are they?” Are we talking about a group of nerds bent over computer screens in their basements with pizza and pepsi? Sophisticated people with a thrilling criminal life and a sexy car to boot? Or something in between?

Misha Glenny says that there are observable character traits present in the majority of hackers he has met. Interestingly enough, most of them have Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. This manifests itself as highly specialized technical skill coupled with awkward social skills. In the life stories of the hackers he met, many of them developed their computer/hacking skills in their early to mid teens when their moral compass was still developing. Even Ryan Cleary, the hacker discussed in the last post, was diagnosed with Asperger’s shortly after his arrest in June. This information tells us that there are psychological and social reasons to explain the circumstances that create a hacker. Please keep in mind that very little, if any, scientific research has been done on the correlation between hackers and their psychological states. Furthermore, the goal here is not to pigeon-hole hackers but to try to understand the kinds of circumstances that might surround the decision to enter the field of cyber crime.

Now that we more fully understand the kinds of individuals we might be dealing with, we should ask, “Do we like hackers?” Are they totally scary? Do they represent a new kind of civil disobedience called hacktivism? Or both? They definitely are scary for several reasons: they are highly motivated, highly skilled, they exercise control over companies and governments seemingly without effort, and they remain hidden. If you can hack into the CIA and live to tell the tale without any jail time, then wow! You are damn good at what you do. The CIA, supposed masters of espionage, cannot pinpoint the identities of its hackers. Well, I’m not sure that a group like LulzSec could be described as engaging in hacktivism since they just do it for the laughs. On the other hand, Anonymous is more serious. We do have to hand it to them, they do tend to take down organizations we don’t like and also fear for other reasons. But you know, what do we really benefit from their schemes? I don’t know about you but I haven’t noticed any differences in my life because of them. I guess that’s what we need to ask ourselves. Are they actively changing the world for the better or just taking minor, ultimately insignificant, shots at the powers that be? We will see what the future holds in store for hacktivism.

In the meantime, this is what I say: convert them! Cuz at the end of the day, they are better with computers than we are.