The groups purpose was to elevate information to the level of human and political rights. to make incriminating information public. Failing that, clever clogs hackers will no doubt find a way to promote their message. However, aside from black-outs, there is also the case of internet vigilantes such as 'The Jester' who put a lot of effort into disrupting the websites of alleged terrorist organisations. Disruption and shame are among the anticipated outcomes. 10 Best Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Tools for 2021, Top 10 Open Source Cybersecurity Tools for Businesses in 2022, Top 11 Malware Scanners and Removers in 202, What Is a Man-in-the-Middle Attack? Hacktivists use technology to gain access to systems, networks, and websites to spread their message or to protest against something. The activists retaliated against the three companies for severing ties with WikiLeaks, an online repository for whistleblower data that had recently included thousands of secret communications from the U.S. State Department and other world governmental agencies. Hacktivism itself can be a fairly dubious issue, for all the power it can grant hackers of varying shades of grey, it could potentially be an effective tool for promoting an important agenda. But the key question as to whether these attacks are justified does not have a blanket answer; it will always depend on the specific case. To stave off hacktivism attacks, organizations can follow a few basic techniques: See More: What Is Data Loss Prevention (DLP)? There are various ways of manifesting protest on the Internet, including building protest sites, cybersquatting, defacing Web sites and organising denial of service attacks. The following are among the more well-known organizations. With the rise of digital technologies, activists will inevitably leverage ethical (and sometimes unethical) hacking techniques to demonstrate or to bring down who they perceive as evildoers. The best way to protect against hacktivism is by maintaining a solid and secure online presence, communicating with regulatory bodies, adhering to ethical practices, and adopting transparency as a part of organizational culture. I feel this comes down to an argument of does the ends justify the means? If we consider that using hacktivist methods could disrupt terrorist networks or promote a particular cause or ideology, are we willing to accept that it's ok? Another example is the DDoS attack that targeted the U.K.'s Labour Party in the lead-up to the Dec. 12, 2020, election. Whether it's effective or not is another question entirely. In these types of attacks, hacktivists alter a websites address to reroute users to a site that promotes their objective. The answer to the question, "Is hacktivism good or bad?"