Free Essay About Hacking: A Critical Analysis

The Internet. Hacking. Power. Nowadays, these three words are closely connected to each other. In the age of digital technologies, the Internet is an essential part of everybody’s life, each of its areas. It significantly eases access to information, but at the same time opens a question about its security. Basically, the Internet and our computers know everything about us; our private life is in much less safety comparing with precedent times. If desired, a person with a number of appropriate skills can learn everything from our preferences to numbers of credit cards; such person is called a hacker. The Internet is a source of great power, which can be used both against civilians and against political regime. In the documentary movie We Are Legion - The Story of the Hacktivists‬, Brian Knappenberger tells a story of Anonymous, modern international network of activists and hactivists loosely connected to each other. This movie is dedicated not only to the history and value of Anonymous and hackers in whole; its main purpose is to claim that average citizens have much more power to change the world and influence on one or another event than they think they have.
As it was said above, We Are Legion - The Story of the Hacktivists is concentrated on the story of Anonymous. Anonymous originates from 4chan, an American website known for opportunities to upload any picture or leave a comment under it absolutely anonymously. 4chan was created by Christopher Poole and based on idea of lack of privacy; at the present day and the age of social media platforms, it is almost impossible to hide your identity, and 4chan gave people an opportunity to express themselves and to be honest without being recognized. At first, Anonymous was a subculture concentrated on creating of memes and active trolling. Anonymous members hacked different websites and online games and got pleasure from seeing how angry people became; for Anonymous, the idea that anything on the Internet can be taken too seriously, was abnormal, and in such a way they showed others that they should overview their priorities. At the beginning of 2007, Anonymous became more organized, and their trolling jumped on specific people, the ones whose views they found inappropriate and aggressive, like popular online Neo-Nazi Hal Turner. Later, from a simple subculture it transformed into a movement against online censorship, monitoring and persecution. Anonymous made a stand against the Church of Scientology, restriction of WikiLeaks, supported mass protests in Tunisia and Egypt. Anonymous has always consisted of ordinary people, and, in most cases, their activity has always been successful.
In We Are Legion - The Story of the Hacktivists, Brian Knappenberger asserts that every person on Earth can make his or her contribution to the change of the world. The movie consists of online and live interviews of present and former members of Anonymous and people related to them in one way or other. It starts with the words of the girl, Mercedes Haefer, who remembers how the federals came for her and dragged out into the street under the light of LED flashlights some years ago. Then, through the movie, we learn that Mercedes belonged to Anonymous, and was arrested exactly for that reason. In order to be more persuasive, Brian Knappenberger uses lots of photos, pictures, screenshots of related articles, and parts of related video recordings. The interviews and unraveling of the plot intersperse with visual evidences of happened events making everything even more realistic. The beginning is rather dynamic: Mercedes remembering her arrest and saying that was a consequence of the authorities being threatened by the group of ten thousand kids, and the following parts of news broadcasts of different times that seem to be chaotic and panic immediately claim the main purpose of the movie. Ten thousand ordinary teenagers brought chaos to the life of the government and powerful politicians without even leaving their homes. How did they do that? Was that good? And, more importantly, if they could do that, other people also can? Besides telling the story of Anonymous, Knappenberger gives a brief overview of the history of hacking. He makes it through one of his interviewers, as usual supports with visual evidences, and directly states that such internationally acclaimed geniuses as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs started as hackers also. Thus, Knappenberger insists that there is nothing bad being a hacker while you use these skills for protecting civilians and easing their lives. But, except the bright side of Anonymous and their power and will to change the world, Knappenberger also shows another one, the dark side inherent in risk and such consequences as arrest, huge fines, and jail. Assertion of rights can frighten. Is it worth it?
It is worth it. And one of the strongest scenes of the movie supporting this point of view is the one regarding the protests in Egypt. Under the rule of Mubarak, the Internet in Egypt was strictly censored, and informing the rest of the world about real events occurring in Egypt was impossible. Anonymous did not like that, and started to post videos and information on behalf from the Egyptians using their accounts in social network services. Then, while the Internet in Egypt was fully shut off, Anonymous members started to gather different information in order to help the Egyptians in winning the revolution and brought down the regime of Mubarak, put it all in one PDF file and sent by fax; they also massively cyber attacked websites of Egyptian government and destroyed its lines of communication. When Mubarak returned the seaboards and the Egyptians started to celebrate that and to thank Anonymous, it was the greatest feeling ever, and this becomes clear from the tones and feelings with which its members recall those memories. They helped dejected people to become free, helped to completely change one whole country, and that was evidence they could change the world even being ordinary members of society.
The modern world is the world of the Internet and informational technologies providing lots of opportunities and easing lives of global population. This interlaces with the question of information secure, but at the same time gives ordinary people a chance to change the environment and to have impact on situation in the world.