The media has created a clichéd image of hackers as hoodie wearing savants operating from grungy basements. In fact, we could all be living next to - or even with - a hacker.
The Post-Truth Era: Dissing Information Hackers & Hacktivists - modern heroes or digital terrorists?
From personal banking to shopping and business, healthcare and transport to government and defence, vast areas of our lives now rely greatly on digital information and network connectivity. One of the biggest threats the modern world faces comes from hackers - people who attempt to illegally gain access to confidential data or take over control of computer systems. Many cyberattacks, as they are known, are precisely targeted to hit a specific individual, an organisation or even a whole country. The motivation is sometimes profit - for example denying service until a “ransom” is paid, or obtaining sensitive images or information for blackmail purposes (as recently happened to David Beckham). However, others use hacking to make political statements, and refer to themselves as hacktivists (a mix of hack and activist). Hacktivists often claim their attacks are about freedom of speech and information, the protection of human rights or even as a form of digital vigilantism - for example some hacktivist groups have exposed paedophiles operating on a secretive part of the internet called the “dark web”. Law enforcers, on the other hand, classify such activities as “cybercrime” or even “cyberterrorism”. In recent times there has also been much evidence to suggest state-sponsored military cyberattacks against rival nations. This is extremely hard to prove though, as the technological and financial resources at the disposal of such hackers are generally huge and allow them to effectively cover their tracks.
Leaky Windows
Putin on the blitz
Hacked and fiction
Social backlash
In March 2015 it emerged that Hillary Clinton, who ran for President against Donald Trump, had, during her tenure as Secretary of State under President Obama, used her family’s private email server for official communications, rather than a government email account maintained on federal servers. This raised questions over security, as a personal email account is always less likely to be as secure as a government one. Indeed, over 30,000 of her emails later appeared on the information sharing site Wikileaks. Another issue was accountability - did Mrs Clinton have something to hide by not using federal resources? Two FBI investigations subsequently cleared her of any wrongdoing, but for many US voters this lack of transparency made her appear untrustworthy and lacking in judgement. Many believe it greatly contributed to her election defeat.
The US intelligence community has expressed “high confidence” that Russian hackers were a key part of Donald Trump’s election victory, and had provided Hillary Clinton’s emails to Wikileaks. In a statement it was claimed that “Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign aimed at the US election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Hillary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency... ...Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.” Former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper, in early January 2017, testified before a Senate committee that Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election went beyond hacking, and included disinformation and the dissemination of fake news often promoted on social media.
Since 9/11 hacking has been a staple cliché of much post-millennial entertainment, featuring prominently in popular TV shows such as 24 and Mr. Robot. On-screen hackers are usually arrogant loners who speak “technobabble” lines that sound authentically technical but are actually gibberish - and work at lightning speed via slick, futuristic user interfaces. Real hackers often find such shows highly amusing, as genuine hacking is time consuming and visually dull. In the early days of networked computing, however, the threat of hacking was handled more pragmatically and authentically. 1982’s Tron, while a sci-fi adventure, highlighted digital corporate theft, while in 1983’s Wargames Matthew Broderick nearly ends the world when he hacks into what he thinks is a videogame, only for it to turn out to be the computer controlling America’s nuclear missile arsenal.
One of the reasons that Adolf Hitler was able to take such complete control of Germany in the 1930s was that the Nazis were able to fully manipulate the media. With newspapers, radio and cinema offering no form of dissent and promoting their ideology of division and hatred, it was easy for the ruling Nazis to influence what people thought and thus demand conformity and obedience. These days, however, the open and immediate nature of the internet and social media makes it extremely difficult for any government to control what people say and think. Official policies are scrutinised, criticised and parodied without restriction. This level of direct, instant response is something officials and conventional media are ill-equipped to engage, as any sign of them being annoyed or attempting to steer the message away is swiftly met with an increased volume of response.