Hacktivism: Advantages and Disadvantages

Hacktivism: the use of computer networks as a means of protest to promote political ends. The world has witnessed the ways in which many corporate and governmental initiatives have attempted to restrain the freedom of computer networks, and their systematic dispersal of knowledge and information to the masses. While some label this internet activity as cyber-terrorism and a disruptive more extremist form of activism, it is relevant to examine this method of protest towards various political ends, the motivations which propel hacktivism, and the effects of such.
 

Advantages:

-illegal security breaches/hacking to expose wrongdoing

-hacking/security breaches to raise awareness of issues

-hacktivism towards political ends

-hacktivism towards social ends

-hacktivism to promote free speech, and protest those institutions that inhibit/restrict it

Disadvantages:

-almost always illegal

-unethical implications

-exploiting weakness in computer systems

-stealing personal data for monetary gain

-anti-institutional sentiment associated with it