'Hacktivism' on the rise

Best explained as a combination of 'hacking' and 'activism', Hacktivism is the act of hacking into a URL or IT system in order to communicate a politically or socially motivated message.

Trend Micro's own research shows that global political and social events, such as the Beijing Olympics, are leading to an increasing volume of Hacktivism attacks originating within the region, as well as penetrating local networks from external sources.

Unlike the traditional hacker, whose motives are usually financial or anarchistic in nature, the Hacktivist performs the same kinds of disruptive actions in order to draw attention to a political or social cause.

Hacktivism is the latest form of civil disobedience and protest.

The most notable incident of Hacktivism occurred in Estonia in 2007 where Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against government and corporate websites created a worldwide realisation of the very real threat of 'Cyber' attacks and the potentially devastating impact they could have on state infrastructure.

TrendLabs, Trend Micro's Threat Research Division, documented occurrences of Hacktivism during the recent social and political unrest in China where Hackitivists unsuccessfully launched a DDoS attack on CNN as a protest against coverage deemed as 'pro-Tibet'.

Though no proof was established regarding the connection between the anti-CNN movement and the supposed hacking incident, investigators believed that the online attacks supposedly go hand-in-hand with street protests, creating a synchronised protest in the real and digital worlds.

"Hacktivism could bring about large economic losses as well as potentially severe damage to the national infrastructure, affecting global markets and public safety. Like any malware, Hacktivism threatens user data and credibility, compromising systems by making them work against their owners or not work at all,"

said Ian Cochrane, Marketing Manager, Trend Micro Middle East and Africa.

"Due to the enormous growth of IT use in the Middle East region, we need to increase awareness of Internet threats, particularly with the increasing availability of tools to conduct cyber mischief including social networking sites, and we encourage users to protect their systems with the appropriate software to prevent any disruption or loss of data" he added.