How U.S. political and socio-economic trends promotes hacktivist activity

• Main Author: Aviles, Grisselle
• Language: EN
• Published: Utica College 2015
• Subjects: Information technology|Criminology|Public policy
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1590361

<p> Hacktivist activity is becoming increasingly prominent within the cyber domain and society. The boundaries between cyber terrorism and hacktivism are becoming more unclear. Hackers are becoming more skilled and involved in socio-political matters, not only in the U.S. but also internationally. Terrorist groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have found a venue to voice their ideals and recruit via social media. Furthermore, terrorist groups have partnerships with hacktivist groups such as Cyber Caliphates. This practice has pointed particular inclinations that characterize different hacker groups with different events. For this reason, computer security has become a matter of national security in the U.S. and research regarding political and socio-economic trends as stimuli for the increment on hacktivist activity must be conducted. This research explored the issue of profiling hacktivist groups, departing from the analysis of the hacker&rsquo;s motivation as a product of a political and socio-economic environment. As comparative angles of analysis, the literature exposed empirical and factual information that integrated U.S. and international hacktivist events. The final research analysis proposed that U.S. political and socio-economic trends promoted hacktivist activity. Moreover, the research exposed that the existent relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic stimuli with political and socio-economical stressors (i.e., misrepresentation, restriction of freedoms, frustration and aggression) promotes hackers to act as hacktivists. <i>Keywords:</i> Psychological profiling; Professor Riddell, Hackers; Hacktivist; Hacktivism; Political Hacktivism; Socio-economic Hacktivism; Extrinsic stimuli; Intrinsic stimuli; Cyber Diplomacy; Cyber Constitution; Cybercrime Awareness Normalization Unit.</p>