Hacktivismo
Encyclopedia
Hacktivismo is an offshoot of CULT OF THE DEAD COW
(cDc), whose beliefs include access to information as a basic human right. It was founded in 1999.
The group's beliefs are described fully in The Hacktivismo Declaration, which seeks to apply the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
to the Internet
. Oxblood Ruffin
, the director of Hacktivismo, has argued forcefully against definitions of hacktivism
that include web defacements or denial-of-service attack
s. Hacktivismo has also authored its own software license agreement, the Hacktivismo Enhanced-Source Software License Agreement
(HESSLA). The HESSLA prohibits use or modification that would violate human rights or introduce features that spy on the user.
(cDc), a loose network of individuals, announced the formation of Hacktivismo. The group set to explore ways of preventing censorship of the Internet. In particular Hacktivismo focused on firewalls or censoring mechanisms of national governments. Press releases made it clear that cDc and Hacktivismo were different groups; however Hacktivismo was also described as "special operations group" of cDc. A press release in early 2002 described Hacktivismo as "an international cadre of hackers founded by the cDc's Oxblood Ruffin
".
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) to the Internet
. The Declaration recalls the duty of member states to the ICCPR to protect the right to freedom of expression with regards to the internet and in this context what is called the "freedom of information". The Hacktivismo Declaration states:
The Hacktivismo Declaration recognizes "the importance to fight against human rights abuses with respect to reasonable access to information on the Internet" and calls upon the hacker
community to "study ways and means of circumventing state sponsored censorship of the internet" and "implement technologies to challenge information rights violations".
The Hacktivismo Declaration does however recognize that the right to freedom of expression is subject to limitations, stating "we recognized the right of governments to forbid the publication of properly categorized state secrets, child pornography, and matters related to personal privacy and privilege, among other accepted restrictions." However, the Hacktivismo Declaration states "but we oppose the use of state power to control access to the works of critics, intellectuals, artists, or religious figures."
2k2 convention in New York City
. Written by The Pull, Camera/Shy is a steganographic
tool that scans for and delivers decrypted
content directly from the world wide web
. It is a stand-alone, Internet Explorer
-based web browser
. It interprets and displays hidden information stored in the junk bits in GIF
files.
. The software is a censorship
resistant network
proxy
. It works by using "trusted peers" to relay network connections over SSL encrypted links. As an example, the distribution includes a program which will act as a web proxy, but where all of the connections will be hidden until they reach the far end trusted peer.
Hacktivismo and the cDc further gained notoriety in 2003 when the Six/Four System became the first product of a hacker group to receive approval from the United States Department of Commerce
for export of strong encryption
.
client based on Gaim. It was written by J. Salvatore Testa II and released at the H.O.P.E. Number Six conference in New York City on July 22, 2006. The source code is available, licensed under the HESSLA. It provides encryption
as well as integrated onion routing
with Tor
, and secure file transfers. Scatterchat's security features include immunity from replay attack
s and limited resistance to traffic analysis
. Various flaws in the software have been elaborated by researchers.
with Tor
built into it. XeroBank is intended for use on portable media
such as a USB flash drive
but it can also be used on any hard disk drive
. cDc/Hacktivismo co-released v.1.5.0.7 along with Steve Topletz on September 19, 2006.
Cult of the Dead Cow
Cult of the Dead Cow, also known as cDc or cDc Communications, is a computer hacker and DIY media organization founded in 1984 in Lubbock, Texas. The group maintains a weblog on its site, also titled "Cult of the Dead Cow"...
(cDc), whose beliefs include access to information as a basic human right. It was founded in 1999.
The group's beliefs are described fully in The Hacktivismo Declaration, which seeks to apply the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Oxblood Ruffin
Oxblood Ruffin
Oxblood Ruffin is a Canadian hacker. He is a member of the hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow , for which he serves as "Foreign Minister." He is also the founder and executive director of Hacktivismo, an off-shoot of cDc....
, the director of Hacktivismo, has argued forcefully against definitions of hacktivism
Hacktivism
Hacktivism is the use of computers and computer networks as a means of protest to promote political ends. The term was first coined in 1994 by a member of the Cult of the Dead Cow hacker collective named Omega...
that include web defacements or denial-of-service attack
Denial-of-service attack
A denial-of-service attack or distributed denial-of-service attack is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users...
s. Hacktivismo has also authored its own software license agreement, the Hacktivismo Enhanced-Source Software License Agreement
Hacktivismo Enhanced-Source Software License Agreement
The Hacktivismo Enhanced-Source Software License Agreement is a software license proposed by Hacktivismo that attempts to put ethical restrictions on use and modification of software released under it....
(HESSLA). The HESSLA prohibits use or modification that would violate human rights or introduce features that spy on the user.
Connection to cDc
In 1999 CULT OF THE DEAD COWCult of the Dead Cow
Cult of the Dead Cow, also known as cDc or cDc Communications, is a computer hacker and DIY media organization founded in 1984 in Lubbock, Texas. The group maintains a weblog on its site, also titled "Cult of the Dead Cow"...
(cDc), a loose network of individuals, announced the formation of Hacktivismo. The group set to explore ways of preventing censorship of the Internet. In particular Hacktivismo focused on firewalls or censoring mechanisms of national governments. Press releases made it clear that cDc and Hacktivismo were different groups; however Hacktivismo was also described as "special operations group" of cDc. A press release in early 2002 described Hacktivismo as "an international cadre of hackers founded by the cDc's Oxblood Ruffin
Oxblood Ruffin
Oxblood Ruffin is a Canadian hacker. He is a member of the hacker group Cult of the Dead Cow , for which he serves as "Foreign Minister." He is also the founder and executive director of Hacktivismo, an off-shoot of cDc....
".
The Hacktivismo Declaration
The group's beliefs are described fully in the "Hacktivismo Declaration" which is a list of "assertions of liberty in support of an uncensored internet" and seeks to apply the Universal Declaration of Human RightsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
(ICCPR) to the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. The Declaration recalls the duty of member states to the ICCPR to protect the right to freedom of expression with regards to the internet and in this context what is called the "freedom of information". The Hacktivismo Declaration states:
- "...such member states continue to willfully suppress wide-ranging access to lawfully published information on the Internet, despite the clear language of the ICCPR that freedom of expression exists in all media,"
- "...that transnational corporations continue to sell information technologies to the world's most repressive regimes knowing full well that they will be used to track and control an already harried citizenry,"
- "...that the Internet is fast becoming a method of repression rather than an instrument of liberation,"
- "...that in some countries it is a crime to demand the right to access lawfully published information, and of other basic human rights,"
- "...that denying access to information could lead to spiritual, intellectual, and economic decline, the promotion of xenophobia and destabilization of international order."
The Hacktivismo Declaration recognizes "the importance to fight against human rights abuses with respect to reasonable access to information on the Internet" and calls upon the hacker
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
community to "study ways and means of circumventing state sponsored censorship of the internet" and "implement technologies to challenge information rights violations".
The Hacktivismo Declaration does however recognize that the right to freedom of expression is subject to limitations, stating "we recognized the right of governments to forbid the publication of properly categorized state secrets, child pornography, and matters related to personal privacy and privilege, among other accepted restrictions." However, the Hacktivismo Declaration states "but we oppose the use of state power to control access to the works of critics, intellectuals, artists, or religious figures."
Camera/Shy
Camera/Shy was the first Hacktivismo project released. It debuted in 2002 at the H.O.P.E.H.O.P.E.
HOPE is a conference series sponsored by the hacker magazine 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. Held biennially in the summer, there have been eight conferences to date with the next scheduled for 13 - 15 July 2012.- HOPE: Hackers On...
2k2 convention in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Written by The Pull, Camera/Shy is a steganographic
Steganography
Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one, apart from the sender and intended recipient, suspects the existence of the message, a form of security through obscurity...
tool that scans for and delivers decrypted
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
content directly from the world wide web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
. It is a stand-alone, Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer
Windows Internet Explorer is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included as part of the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year...
-based web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
. It interprets and displays hidden information stored in the junk bits in GIF
GIF
The Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
files.
The Six/Four System
The Six/Four System was written by MixterMixter
Mixter is a computer security specialist. Mixter first made the transition out of the computer underground into large-scale public awareness, in 2000, at which time newspapers and magazines worldwide mentioned a link to a massively destructive and effective, Distributed Denial of Service attacks...
. The software is a censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
resistant network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
proxy
Proxy server
In computer networks, a proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server...
. It works by using "trusted peers" to relay network connections over SSL encrypted links. As an example, the distribution includes a program which will act as a web proxy, but where all of the connections will be hidden until they reach the far end trusted peer.
Hacktivismo and the cDc further gained notoriety in 2003 when the Six/Four System became the first product of a hacker group to receive approval from the United States Department of Commerce
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
for export of strong encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
.
ScatterChat
ScatterChat is an encrypted instant messagingInstant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
client based on Gaim. It was written by J. Salvatore Testa II and released at the H.O.P.E. Number Six conference in New York City on July 22, 2006. The source code is available, licensed under the HESSLA. It provides encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
as well as integrated onion routing
Onion routing
Onion routing is a technique for anonymous communication over a computer network. Messages are repeatedly encrypted and then sent through several network nodes called onion routers. Like someone unpeeling an onion, each onion router removes a layer of encryption to uncover routing instructions, and...
with Tor
Tor (anonymity network)
Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
, and secure file transfers. Scatterchat's security features include immunity from replay attack
Replay attack
A replay attack is a form of network attack in which a valid data transmission is maliciously or fraudulently repeated or delayed. This is carried out either by the originator or by an adversary who intercepts the data and retransmits it, possibly as part of a masquerade attack by IP packet...
s and limited resistance to traffic analysis
Traffic analysis
Traffic analysis is the process of intercepting and examining messages in order to deduce information from patterns in communication. It can be performed even when the messages are encrypted and cannot be decrypted. In general, the greater the number of messages observed, or even intercepted and...
. Various flaws in the software have been elaborated by researchers.
Torpark
XeroBank Browser (formerly known as Torpark) is a variant of the Portable Firefox web browserWeb browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
with Tor
Tor (anonymity network)
Tor is a system intended to enable online anonymity. Tor client software routes Internet traffic through a worldwide volunteer network of servers in order to conceal a user's location or usage from someone conducting network surveillance or traffic analysis...
built into it. XeroBank is intended for use on portable media
Removable media
In computer storage, removable media refers to storage media which is designed to be removed from the computer without powering the computer off.Some types of removable media are designed to be read by removable readers and drives...
such as a USB flash drive
USB flash drive
A flash drive is a data storage device that consists of flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus interface. flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. Most weigh less than 30 g...
but it can also be used on any hard disk drive
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
. cDc/Hacktivismo co-released v.1.5.0.7 along with Steve Topletz on September 19, 2006.