Anonymous, Hactivism, and Gender

• In Event: Social Media, Policing, Research, and Hactivism

Abstract

As internet connectivity advances around the world, the coming data revolution will empower citizens in ways never before imagined, with virtually unprecedented choices and options available to anyone with a connection to the web. For those in less democratic nations, citizens will have the ability to play a part in promoting accountability and transparency via recordings of corruption and abuse by their governments on their mobile phones. The incriminating videos can then be sent out on sites such as YouTube for the world to judge. The anonymity of some of these social media sites will be a protecting factor for these dissidents. Hactivist groups like Anonymous are among those who have brought light to the oppressive practices of institutions and governments around the world, including here in the United States. Anonymous is one of many politically or socially motivated hacker groups, who organize around common causes and conduct sophisticated attacks on whomever they deem a proper target. Some of their recent operations include attacks against the terrorists responsible for deaths members of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo organization, Operation Ice ISIS, in which ISIS recruiting websites were shut down, and Operation KKK, where clan member names were publicized. While there are many newspaper articles and books about Anonymous, very few criminological researchers have conducted research on the group and fewer still have looked at the role of gender among hactivists. This article is an effort to do both—examine the various operations of Anonymous and determine the role that females play in supporting the organization.

Author

• Virginia McGovern, Mount St. Mary's University