Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
European Sociological Association, Porto, Portekiz, 27 - 30 Ağustos 2024, ss.824, (Özet Bildiri)
In the social movement literature, scholars have conceptually delineated “hacktivism” from “cyberterrorism” or “cyberwarfare.” The former is typified by acts of computer hacking which temporarily disrupt digital infrastructure without causing permanent damage (such as a DDoS attack on a website), while the latter involve computer hacking which causes real damage to physical infrastructure or people (like causing a city’s power grid to fail). Historically, hacktivism has typically involved non-violent symbolic acts of protest, which some activists claim are analogous to traditional forms of civil disobedience. But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there has been an unprecedented rise in both hacktivism and cyberwarfare in this conflict, not only digitally disrupting institutional infrastructures, but also sabotaging physical ones. Ukraine’s besieged government has called upon volunteer hacktivists worldwide to join them in what might be thought of as the first ever crowdsourced cyberwar. This spells a new era in which the line between cyberwarfare and online activism, digital violence and non-violence, is becoming dangerously blurred. Through a historical analysis mapping the development and trajectory of hacktivism as a sociopolitical phenomenon, this study identifies four major phases: (1) Emergence, (2) Popularization, (3) Cooptation, and (4) Evolution. While previous studies have discussed the first two phases, this study identifies the latter two illustrated by examples from cutting-edge cybersecurity research. These stages represent a significant shift in the tactics of state power with major implications for the future of online activism. This paper seeks to bring attention to this social change and its implications for society