Softpedia Exclusive Interview: The Life of a Hacktivist

[safeguy]

Since black hat hackers that consider themselves to be hacktivists have been in the attention of the media lately, breaching the infrastructures of governments and major companies to prove their point, I thought it would be a great opportunity to find out not only about their operations, but also about the life of such a cybercriminal.

While I was roaming around on underground forums and IRC channels, I came across such an individual and after we got to talk a little, he agreed to give me an interview for people to see how exactly a hacker is borne and what sort of things influence his evolution from a simple man to one that claims to be fighting for the “99 percent.”

The hacktivist I spoke to claims he is wanted by certain law enforcement agencies and for that reason he didn’t provide his current location and not even his online moniker.

More of the interview here:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Softpedia-Exclusive-Interview-Hacktivist-Talks-About-Hacking-and-241186.shtml

[Bearcat]

Thanks for the interesting read safeguy. This guy has the type of personality that really scares me. I seriously doubt if he cares whether his actions are right or wrong, or if he even can distinguish between the two. He is obviously in it, not only for the thrill of it, but also as a way to get back at society for what happened to him as a kid. He claims to be only targeting gov'ts and large companies now, but even at that, his actions are going to impact all of us, because both of those institutions are part of society as a whole.

[safeguy]

@Bearcat

Seems like I have a different mindset here (although not in entirety) since I actually find his actions somewhat justified. His means to reach his objectives may be seen as "wrong" but I give more importance to the objective/intent itself, especially more so if it's for the good or right purposes. You mentioned that "his actions are going to impact all of us" and funnily enough I do agree with that with the exception that I am also able to see it in a positive light. To use an analogy, hacktivists need not necessarily be the bad guys....they can be the Robin Hood of modern times too. Today's society needs the good hacktivists to serve as a reminder to the large corporations and/or governments that we have human rights and freedom of speech and therefore would not tolerate being "bullied" by them...that is of course if any were to occur.

[Bearcat]

@ safeguy

I have seen a lot in my 56 years on this planet and it has probably made me more than a bit cynical about human nature, I'm afraid. I just can't agree with people who break the law in order to accomplish their goals. There has been way to much of "the ends justify the means" throughout history. Ordinary people seem to get hurt the most by that type of thinking. I guess you and I are just going to have to "agree to disagree" on this subject.

[safeguy]

Well, I have only lived 20 years on this planet and it feels very short for sure. It felt like just a week ago I was born onto this world. When you mention 56...I wonder how I'll be like if I ever come to that age. They say time changes people (and more). Anyway, coming back to topic..yeah I can understand your point of view but we still have agree to disagree then.

[Bearcat]

I sincerely hope that you will always maintain your positive atitude toward life! I still keep a positive attitude, but as the years progress it has become more and more tempered with reality. Life has a nasty habit of throwing curve balls at you, when you least expect it.

[Raymond]

I sincerely hope that you will always maintain your positive atitude toward life! I still keep a positive attitude, but as the years progress it has become more and more tempered with reality. Life has a nasty habit of throwing curve balls at you, when you least expect it.

I guess the world wasn't like that back in 10-20 years ago.
I felt that the world today is a dog eat dog world.

[Bearcat]

I guess the world wasn't like that back in 10-20 years ago.
I felt that the world today is a dog eat dog world.

To be totally honest, I'm not sure how much human nature has changed, but rather that my perception of it has changed, as I've "weathered the storm". But yes, I agree with you about it being a dog eat dog world out there and it will only get worse as the population of the world grows and there is more and more competition for the limited resources available.