- Hacktivismo
Infobox computer underground
group_name = Hacktivismo
caption =
origin = Las Vegas,Nevada
country =United States
status = active
years_active = 1999–present
category =hacktivism
founders =Oxblood Ruffin
products = Camera/Shy
The Six/Four System
HESSLA
affiliates = CULT OF THE DEAD COWNinja Strike Force
website = [http://www.hacktivismo.com/ Main Site]
Hacktivismo is an offshoot of CULT OF THE DEAD COW (cDc), whose beliefs include access to information as a basic
human right . It was founded in1999 .Oxblood Ruffin , the director of Hacktivismo, has argued forcefully against definitions ofhacktivism that include web defacements ordenial-of-service attack s.The group's beliefs are described fully in [http://www.cultdeadcow.com/cDc_files/declaration.html The Hacktivismo Declaration] , which seeks to apply the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to theInternet .Hacktivismo has also authored its own
software license agreement, theHacktivismo Enhanced-Source Software License Agreement (HESSLA), which is source available (but notopen source ).The Hacktivismo Declaration
The group's beliefs are described fully in the "Hacktivismo Declaration" which is a list of "assertions of liberty in support of an uncensored internet" and seeks to apply the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to theInternet . The Declaration recalls the duty of member states to the ICCPR to protect the right tofreedom of expression with regards to the internet and in this context what is called the "freedom of information".cite web |url=http://www.cultdeadcow.com/cDc_files/declaration.html |title= The Hacktivismo Declaration | publisher =CULT OF THE DEAD COW andHacktivismo |accessdate=2008-07-25] The Hacktivismo Declaration states:
*"...such member states continue to wilfully suppress wide-ranging access to lawfully published information on the Internet, despite the clear language of the ICCPR that freedom of expression exists in all media,"
*"...that transnational 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 harried citizenry,"
*"...that the Internet is fast becoming a method of repression rather than an instrument of liberation,"
*"...that in some countries it is a crime to demand the right to access lawfully published information, and of other basic human rights,"
*"...that denying access to information could lead to spiritual, intellectual, and economic decline, the promotion of xenophobia and destabilization of international order,"The Hacktivismo Declaration recognises "the importance to fight against human rights abuses with respect to reasonable access to information on the Internet" and calls upon thehacker community to "study ways and means of circumventing state sponsored censorship of the internet" and "implement technologies to challenge information rights violations".The Hacktivismo Declaration does however recognise that the right tofreedom of expression is subject to limitations, stating "we recognised the right of governments to forbid the publication of properly categorized state secrets, child pornography, and matters related to personal privacy and privilege, among other accepted restrictions." However, the Hacktivismo Declaration states "but we oppose the use of state power to control access to the works of critics, intellectuals, artists, or religious figures."Projects
Camera/Shy
Camera/Shy was the first Hacktivismo project released. It debuted in
2002 at theH.O.P.E. 2k2 convention inNew York City . Written by The Pull, Camera/Shy is a steganographic tool that scans for and delivers decrypted content directly from theworld wide web . It is a stand-alone,Internet Explorer -basedweb browser . It interprets and displays hidden information stored in the junk bits inGIF files.Einhorn, Bruce. " [http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2002/tc2002085_2375.htm Hackers to Beijing: Have a Cow!] ." "Business Week " online edition,August 5 ,2002 . RetrievedJuly 19 ,2006 .]The Six/Four System
The Six/Four System is one of Hacktivismo's products. It was written by
Mixter . The software is acensorship resistant network proxy. It works by using "trusted peers" to relay network connections over SSL encrypted links. [Mixter. "Six/Four System Protocol Specs," 2003. mixter@hacktivismo.com.] As an example, the distribution includes a program which will act as a web proxy, but where all of the connections will be hidden until they reach the far end trusted peer. [Mixter. "The Six/Four System; A Decentralized Anonymous Peer-To-Peer Network Infrastructure With Trust," README file in Six/Four distribution, 2003.]Hacktivismo and the cDc further gained notoriety in
2003 when the Six/Four System became the first product of ahacker group to receive approval from theUnited States Department of Commerce for export of strongencryption . [LaCroix, Norman E. " [http://www.hacktivismo.com/public/Hacktivismo_DoC_BIS.pdf Hacktivismo_DoC_BIS.pdf] ."United States Department of Commerce , January2003 . RetrievedApril 20 ,2006 .]catterChat
ScatterChat is an encrypted
instant messaging client based onGaim . It was written by J. Salvatore Testa II and released at the H.O.P.E. Number Six conference in New York City onJuly 22 ,2006 . The code is source available, licensed under the HESSLA. It providesencryption as well as integratedonion routing with Tor, and secure file transfers. Scatterchat's security features include immunity fromreplay attack s and limited resistance totraffic analysis . [" [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/7/prweb414312.htm Hacktivismo Launches ScatterChat for Secure, Private Communication] ." CULT OF THE DEAD COW/Hacktivismo press release,July 21 ,2006 . RetrievedJuly 24 ,2006 .] ["Tectonic" staff, " [http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1070 Secure messenger to guard against totalitarian governments] ." "Tectonic",July 21 ,2006 . RetrievedJuly 24 ,2006 .] [Doctorow, Cory, " [http://www.boingboing.net/2006/07/22/scatterchat_anonymou.html ScatterChat: anonymous, secure chat] ."Boing Boing blog post,July 22 ,2006 . RetrievedJuly 24 ,2006 .] Various flaws in the software have been elaborated by researchers [Murdoch, Steven J., " [http://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2006/08/11/protocol-design-is-hard-—-flaws-in-scatterchat/ Protocol design is hard — Flaws in ScatterChat] ." Light Blue Touchpaper blog post,August 11 ,2006 . RetrievedFebruary 6 ,2007 .] [Schneier, Bruce, " [http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2006/07/scatterchat.html ScatterChat] ." Schneier on Security blog post,July 31 ,2006 . RetrievedFebruary 6 ,2007 .] .Torpark
XeroBank Browser (formerly known as Torpark) is a variant of the
Portable Firefox web browser with Tor built into it. XeroBank is intended for use on portable media such as aUSB flash drive but it can also be used on any hard disk drive. cDc/Hacktivismo co-released v.1.5.0.7 along with Steve Topletz on September 19, 2006. [" [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/9/prweb438978.htm Hacktivismo Releases Torpark for Anonymous, Portable Web Browsing] ." CULT OF THE DEAD COW/Hacktivismo press release,September 19 ,2006 . RetrievedSeptember 19 ,2006 .] [" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/5363230.stm Free anonymising browser debuts] ." "BBC News Online ",September 20 ,2006 . RetrievedSeptember 22 ,2006 .] [ Broersma, Matthew. " [http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6118547.html Activists unveil stealth browser] ." "ZDNet ",September 22 ,2006 . RetrievedSeptember 22 ,2006 .]Notable members
*
Oxblood Ruffin
*Mixter References
Further reading
*Still, Brian. "Hacking for a cause." "First Monday" volume 10, number 9 (September 2005). Retrieved17 September 2006 .External links
* [http://www.hacktivismo.com/ Hacktivismo homepage]
* [http://www.hacktivismo.com/projects/ Hacktivismo's Projects Page]
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