Redazione RHC : 2 July 2025 07:48
“Hacktivism, a special message of hope.” Thus begins the “Hacktivism Declaration”, published on July 4, 2001 by the famous hacker group Cult of the dead Cow (also called cDc or Omega).
“Free speech is under siege on the fringes of the internet. Several countries are censoring access to the web…”
This is the activity that attempts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political and economic reforms, with the main desire to initiate strong changes within a society through demonstrations, sit-ins, hunger strikes and much more.
Following the advent of microcomputers and the rise of “hacker culture”, it was thought that the use of computers for the purposes of activism, was a powerful means of protest, which allowed for greater effectiveness. Therefore, from the union of the two terms Hacking and Actvivism was born Hacktivism.
The general idea of hacktivism was first articulated by John Perry Barlow, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in his “Declaration of Independence in Cyberspace” from 1996, which we covered on RHC.
But no one used this word until 1998, when Omega (aka Misha Kubecka), a longtime member of cDc, began using it as a joke. Oxblood Ruffin, a member of cDc, reports in a document: “Originally the word was more of a joke or a joke. But from the moment I first heard it from Omega, I knew this would have profound meaning, not just for the cDc, but for millions of people on the Internet.”
Oxblood Ruffin
Almost immediately “hacktivism” spread like wildfire. The word sounded so cool that everyone wanted to use it as a buzzword, even though journalists and activists had only just discovered email. Suddenly, everyone was a “hacktivist.” No one had any idea what it meant, but it sounded good to say it.
The people in cDc who were primarily interested in hacktivism were Omega, Reid Fleming, Count Zero, Nightstalker, Tweety Fish, and Oxblood Ruffin, and they discussed it on their listserv, through private emails, and at hacker conventions, one of the few places they met physically.
It was Reid Fleming who brought the word hacktivism to the table, something unique and new, with that technological touch that was not a bad thing at the time. Reid created hacktivism.org which contained a quote from the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). It was Article 19 and it said: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers.”
And “regardless without frontiers” was the focal point, cyberspace is immaterial, like radio and television. Soon after, cDc members started registering top-level domains. Count Zero took hacktivism.net while Fleming booked, never finishing hacktivism.com.
The Hacktivist is not motivated by financial gain, but by anything that is considered “wrong” or “unfair.” Motivations also include revenge, political or social incentives, ideology, protest, the desire to embarrass governments and organizations. More specifically, Hacktivism is an act of social or political activism that is accomplished by breaking into and wreaking havoc on a supposedly secure computer system.
Hacktivism is usually directed at corporate or governmental targets, and individuals or groups who engage in hacktivism are called hacktivists. It’s the use of technology as a means of activism. Acts of hacktivism typically disrupt the normal operation of systems in some way, causing what we call “defaces,” or significant data losses.
Deface to the FBI on December 22, 2016
cDc has long described how we got into the mess we’re in today, where governments and corporations hold immense power over individuals and how we are finally fighting back. We are disgusted by these gross violations of information and human rights. But hackers are not willing to watch.
Are activists cyber criminals? Many people think differently.
If you are the only one benefiting from it, you are not hacking, much less hacktivism.
What do you think about this?
Below is the Italian translation of “A Special Message of Hope” by Cult Of The Dead Cow (cDc) made by Olivia Terragni.
Hacktivism: A Special Message of Hope “International Book Burning Underway” July 4, 2001, Lubbock, Texas. Free speech is under siege on the fringes of the Internet. Quite a few countries are censoring access to the Web through DNS (Domain Name Service) filtering. This is a process where politically incorrect information is blocked by the domain address – the name that appears before the dot com suffix. Others employ filtering that denies politically or socially challenging topics based on their content. Hacktivismo and CULT OF THE DEAD COW have decided that this is enough. We are hackers and free speech advocates, and we are developing technologies to challenge state-sponsored Internet censorship. Most countries use intimidation and filters of one kind or another, including the People’s Republic of China, Cuba, and many Islamic countries. Most claim to block pornographic content. But the real reason is to prevent the spread of challenging content through repressive regimes. This includes information ranging from political opinions to “foreign” news, from women’s issues to academic work, from religious information to information about underprivileged ethnic groups and news about human rights abuses, documents that present drugs in a positive light, as well as content about gays and lesbians, among others. The capriciousness of state censorship is far-reaching. [1] *In Zambia, the government has attempted to censor information by revealing their plans for constitutional referendums. * In Mauritania – as in most countries – cybercafé owners are required to provide government intelligence agents with copies of emails sent or received at their establishments. * Even less draconian governments, such as Malaysia, have threatened web publishers for violating their publishing licenses by publishing frequent updates: information – timely and relevant – is seen as a threat. * South Korea’s national security law bars South Koreans from having contact, including online contact, with their North Korean neighbors. * Sri Lanka has threatened news sites with possible revocation of their licenses if coverage of a presidential election does not favor the incumbent president’s party. The risks involved in accessing or disseminating information are often high. * A decapitated body found near the village of Tarachtcha in Ukraine is believed to be that of Georgiy Gongadze, the founder and editor of an online newspaper critical of the authorities. * In August 1998, 18-year-old Emre Ersoz from Turkey was found guilty of "insulting the national police" on an Internet forum after participating in a demonstration that was violently repressed by police. His ISP provided authorities with his address. * Journalist Miroslav Filipovic holds the dubious distinction of being the first journalist to be charged with espionage because of articles published on the Internet - in this case detailing abuses by Yugoslav army units in Kosovo. We are disgusted by these shameful violations of information and human rights. Liberal democracies are far better at talking than they are at deeds about access to information. But hackers are not prepared to watch the guardians of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights turn into a farce. We want to walk the talk. Hacktivismo and CULT OF THE DEAD COW publish the HACKTIVISMO DECLARATION as a statement of outrage and a declaration of intent. It is our Magna Carta for the right to information. People have a right to reasonable access to information otherwise lawfully published. If our leaders are not prepared to defend the Internet, we are. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Some information cited in this press release was either paraphrased, or directly quoted, from the report "Enemies of the Internet" published by Reporters Without Frontiers and can be found at http://www.rsf.fr />/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/>/> HACKTIVISM DECLARATION Statements of Freedom in Support of an Uncensored Internet DEEPLY ALARMED that state-sponsored Internet censorship is rapidly spreading with the assistance of transnational corporations, TAKING AS A BASIS the principles and purposes enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which states, _Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers, and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which states, 1. Everyone has the right to hold opinions without interference. 2. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression; this right includes freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. 3. The exercise of the rights set forth in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall be only such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others; (b) For the protection of national security, or of public order, or of public health or morals. RECALLING that some United Nations member states have signed or ratified the ICCPR in ways that prevent their citizens from using it in courts of law, CONSIDERING that such member states continue to willfully suppress access on a large scale to information published lawfully on the Internet, despite the clear language of the ICCPR that freedom of expression exists in all media, NOTING that multinational 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 troubled citizenry, CONSIDERING that the Internet is rapidly becoming a method of repression rather than a tool of liberation, CONSIDERING that in some countries it is a crime to demand the right of access to information published lawfully and other fundamental human rights, RECALLING that United Nations member states have failed to hold the world's most egregious violators of information rights to higher standards, CONSIDERING that denying access to information could lead to spiritual, intellectual and economic decline, promoting xenophobia and destabilizing the international order, CONCERNED that governments and multinational corporations are complicit in maintaining the status quo, DEEPLY ALARMED that world leaders have failed to address information on rights issues directly and unequivocally, RECOGNIZING the importance of combating human rights violations with respect to reasonable access to information on the Internet, THEREFORE CONVINCED that the international hacker community has a moral imperative to act, and we DECLARE: *THAT FULL RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS WHICH INCLUDES THE FREEDOM OF FAIR AND REASONABLE ACCESS TO INFORMATION, WHETHER VIA SHORTWAVE RADIO, AIRMAIL, PLAIN TELEPHONY, THE GLOBAL INTERNET OR OTHER MEDIA. * THAT WE RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT OF GOVERNMENTS TO PROHIBIT THE PUBLICATION OF PROPERLY CATEGORIZED STATE SECRETS, CHILD PORNOGRAPHY, AND MATTERS RELATED TO PRIVACY AND PERSONAL PRIVILEGE, AMONG OTHER ACCEPTED RESTRICTIONS. BUT WE OPPOSE THE USE OF STATE POWER TO CONTROL ACCESS TO THE WORKS OF CRITICS, INTELLECTUALS, ARTISTS, OR RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. * THAT STATE-SPONSORED INTERNET CENSORSHIP ERODES PEACEFUL AND CIVILIZED COEXISTENCE, AFFECTS THE EXERCISE OF DEMOCRACY, AND JEOPARDIZES THE SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONS. *THAT STATE-SPONSORED INTERNET CENSORSHIP IS A SERIOUS FORM OF ORGANIZED AND SYSTEMATIC VIOLENCE AGAINST CITIZENS, AIMS TO CREATE CONFUSION AND XENOPHOBIA, AND IS A REPREHENSIBLE BREACH OF TRUST. *THAT WE WILL EXPLORE WAYS AND MEANS TO CIRCUMVENT STATE-SPONSORED INTERNET CENSORSHIP AND WILL IMPLEMENT TECHNOLOGIES TO CHALLENGE VIOLATIONS OF INFORMATION RIGHTS. Published July 4, 2001 by Hacktivismo and CULT OF THE DEAD COW. Relevant Web Links: Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_ccpr.htm Reporter Without Frontiers http://www.rsf.fr CULT OF THE DEAD COW http://www.cultdeadcow.com Sources
https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2010-11/Hacktivism/what.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20090502054355/http://www.cultdeadcow.com/cDc_files/declaration.html
Redazione