Hackers exploit virtual vulnerabilities to gain access to networks and devices illegally. While most engage in this activity for financial gain, others, called hacktivists, have different motivations. These threat actors typically engage in disruptive or damaging virtual activity on behalf of a political, social, or religious cause. Individual or group hacktivists often work to expose fraud, reveal corporate wrongdoing or greed, draw attention to human rights violations, protest censorship, or highlight other social injustices.
To spread their messages, hacktivists engage in various tactics, such as leaking sensitive data about and/or belonging to organizations, defacing web pages, and taking organizations offline. These cybercriminals often target government agencies, multinational corporations and powerful individuals to expose a believed injustice. The following are some of the motivating factors of hacktivism:
- Political—This motivation drives malicious actors to promote or upheave a political agenda.
- Social—This motiveThose engaging in this form of cybercrime can steal data, intellectual property or other proprietary information.
Preventing Hacktivist Attacks
Since hacktivism aims to draw attention to a cause, the perpetrators often reveal their targets and intentions in advance to gain attention, recruit new supporters, or help fund their endeavors. Because financial gain is not the goal, any company of any size could be at risk of such attacks and face service disruptions, financial losses, data theft, or reputational harm. The following are ways to combat hacktivist attacks:
- Train all employees on cybersecurity best practices. According to the IBM Cyber Security Intelligence Index Report, 95% of cybersecurity breaches are primarily caused by human error. Therefore, organizations need to teach their employees about best cyber hygiene practices, including using strong password protection, connecting only to secure Wi-Fi, and being alert for phishing scams.