hacktivism

noun

hacktivism

noun

Etymology Blend of hack + activism, a portmanteau coined in 1994 by a member of the Cult of the Dead Cow hacker collective.

1

Internet The practice of promoting a political agenda by hacking, especially by defacing or disabling websites.

  • Hacktivism is a form of activism for social change that appropriates computers and electronic networks for this purpose. Also called electronic civil disobedience, hacktivism is geared to political ends.2010, Pramod K. Nayar, An Introduction to New Media and Cybercultures, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 102:
  • My aim will be to identify and highlight the potential problems of the existing approach that is followed when dealing with hacktivism and its impact on user rights, protesters, and overall cybersecurity.2018, Vasileios Karagiannopoulos, Living With Hacktivism, Springer, →ISBN, page viii:
Derived terms
hacktivist, hacktivistic
Related terms
ecotage
Coordinate terms
artivism, clicktivism, cyberactivism

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.