DIRECT CYBER ACTIVISM

Direct cyber activism: This is another type of cyber activism is the use of the Internet as a primary ground for political action.

The following are the three sub-types of Direct Cyber Activism. 

 a) Virtual sit-ins,

 b) Hacktivism, and

c) Cyberterrorism, destructive efforts against the net.

 a) Virtual sit-ins: Movements are utilizing e-technologies as a disruptive tool to industry and civil practices or temporarily dismantle the various stages of capital's circuit (e.g., the production and circulation of commodities). Cyber activists disrupt net activity through electronic civil disobedience, for instance, in “virtual sit-ins” by mounting extensive traffic to shut down websites. It is possible to create disastrous results in the marketing and sale of commodities by disrupting corporate operations at public access points on the Internet.

b) Hacktivism: In new forms of resistance, which have been called "hacktivism", hackers appropriate or disrupt technologies for personal and political ends.  Wray (1998) mentions various examples. One example is a British hacker who cracked into hundreds of web sites worldwide and circulated anti-nuclear messages. Another instance of cyber activism has been the Zapatista movement. This was the first “peasant” uprising to use various web sites and e-mails to draw international concern to the problems of indigenous peoples. The Zapatista movement as an instance of savvy cyber activism, while grounded in profound local justice issues, linked these to a global analysis. Another example: The conflict in Kosovo was the first war to utilize the Internet. Denning (2000) writes, “Government and non-government actors used the Net to disseminate information, spread propaganda, demonize opponents, and solicit support for their positions. Hackers used it to voice their objections to both Yugoslav and NATO aggressions by disrupting service on government computers and taking over their Web sites.” Hacktivists, perhaps working for their respective governments, have disrupted and infiltrated a number of Israeli and Palestinian websites, often putting pornography on the web pages.

c) Cyberterrorism: More forceful than such cyber-disruptions are the prospects of cyberterrorism. While computer viruses spread via the net have caused billions in economic losses, hacktivist attacks for overt political purposes have been sporadic and small scale to date. Yet, government investments in cyber defense measures are increasing. To date, hacktivism is the province of individuals and underground cadres of actors. While direct cyber activism at the level of net public access points is a viable and quasi-legal form of activism, how the use of illegal hacktivism by social movements may unfold is yet to be seen. It is conceivable that through an extensive viruses and cracking websites that corporate and state networks and even the Internet in general could be collapsed, with profoundly catastrophic results—consider that vital global transportation, health care, energy, and food distribution networks now depend increasingly on Internet mediations.

In conclusion of that, the number of activists online continuing to increase, incidents of various types of direct cyber activism can be expected to grow in number and scale.  So, as the Corporate Communication Managers have to be very carefully in the use of Internet in their organization.

By:  Ulaya Sijali A. (BAPRM 42681)