With the development of high technology, more and more of our lives are moving online. Each coin has two sides, so in addition to the advantages and simplification of everyday life, we get a new criminal field, as well as a platform for defending interests.
It is at the intersection of these two concepts that the relatively recently popular term "hacktivism"is formed. In simple terms, defending the interests/ideologies or communicating the problems of society by committing high-profile cybercrimes.
A vivid example that each of us has probably heard over the past year is the hacker group Killnet and the Anonymous group.
Representatives of these communities make attacks, make statements, or publish the results of their attacks, usually in order to convey a certain "public position" or point of view on certain events.
One of the main tools that Killnet and Anonymous actively use is social engineering. It allows you to gain access to confidential information by deceiving people. They can also exploit vulnerabilities in systems and networks to gain access to information.
The set of Killnet and Anonymous tools depends on the personal tools of a particular person who at some point decided to speak on behalf of the community that "represents the interests" of one or another side of a high-profile event.
It turns out that anyone can make a statement from an Anonymous person or introduce themselves as a Kilnet hacker, committing a cyber attack, and also come up with a crime message.
Both groups are mostly seen organizing DDoS attacks. There is also the exploitation of some vulnerabilities, but this is not the main thing. To organize such attacks, you need to maintain a botnet that can generate the necessary volumes of traffic, so the constant expansion of this botnet is the second notable area of activity for these groups.
Wikipedia says that Anonymous is an international-level hacker, mostly known for cyber attacks on a political or ideological basis. The representatives of the group themselves may be offended by the definition of "hacker"that is too simple for their ideology. A group of Anonymous people position themselves as a subculture whose representatives are fighting for the Internet without censorship.
The movement started back in 2003 on the 4chan image board. Now Anonymous users have an official website, as well as Twitter Anonymous and other social networks.
One of the first famous Ananimus attacks was the attack on the Churches of Scientology in the United States in 2008. The organization constantly advocated banning this or that content, then the adherents of censorship were attacked by Anonymous hackers.
Two years later, Anonymous users attacked the websites of the US Copyright Office for trying to shut down The Pirate Bay torrent tracker.
In addition to protecting the right to free speech on the Internet, Anonymous appeals often relate to political events. So they threatened to "erase" Israel from the Internet during the conflict with Palestine or declared war on the terrorist group "Islamic State" (a terrorist group banned in Russia).
The Killnet hacker group exists not so long ago as the Anonymous group. Who are Killnet became widely known after they managed to put down the official Anonymous website in response to Anonymous ' appeal to the Russians on March 3. In their appeal Anonymus in 2022, hackers promised to empty the accounts of Russians.
Wikipedia says that Killnet is a Russian hacker group that is known for its attacks on state institutions of NATO countries. Among those who came under fire from the Killnet group are enterprises and government agencies in the Czech Republic, Italy, Moldova, Norway, the United States and other countries.
At the end of 2022, Killnet hackers announced in their Telegram channel that the site of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation was hacked by representatives of the group.
In an interview with "Gazeta.En" the founder and former leader of the group Killnet-Killmilk said that Killnet appeared in November 2021. But the news about the Killnet hacker attacks, according to Yandex and Google, dates back much earlier. Experts believe that the Killnet group was created initially for obtaining commercial benefits by its participants – theft and sale of data, as well as blackmail.
The main difference between Killnet and Anonymous is political motivation. Killnet, for now, clearly positions itself as a pro-Russian patriotic group that attacks those it considers enemies of the state. Anonymous has broader views, and the list of" victims "includes organizations ranging from the Church of Scientology to Mastercard, and from the Vatican to the "Islamic State" (a terrorist organization banned in Russia).
On paper, both groups advocate freedom and security on the Internet, but these are too vague concepts that allow for unexpected interpretations.
From this, we conclude that, most likely, the Anonymous group was originally created as a community of people united by certain views and ideals, that is, as an opposition, a cell aimed at fighting unfair issues, in the opinion of its members, in a criminal way.
Speaking of Killnet hackers, we can assume two options. The first is that the group has really existed for a long time, but it rarely got into the information field, since the main activity of its members is aimed at making money through cybercrime. And now they are using the chance to support the interests of Russia, in an attempt to "cover up" the eyes of the servants of the law a little on their activities and / or count on privileges from the state in response to selfless patriotism on the cyber field. The second option – Killnet hakers were created quite recently and with one single purpose-to serve as a Russian response in a cyber war with hacker groups that are aggressively opposed to Russia.
It is at the intersection of these two concepts that the relatively recently popular term "hacktivism"is formed. In simple terms, defending the interests/ideologies or communicating the problems of society by committing high-profile cybercrimes.
A vivid example that each of us has probably heard over the past year is the hacker group Killnet and the Anonymous group.
Public hackers
If ordinary hackers who pursue absolutely specific goals do not conduct social networks, do not make public statements, but rather strive to remain in the shadows as much as possible, then representatives of Killnet and Anonymous commit crimes in such a way as to attract public attention and make official statements. Killnet and Anonymous have official websites, as well as profiles in social networks, such as Twitter.Representatives of these communities make attacks, make statements, or publish the results of their attacks, usually in order to convey a certain "public position" or point of view on certain events.
Lack of handwriting
The techniques and tactics used cannot be clearly "assigned" to Killnet and Anonymous. They use a variety of attack tools, including crackers, scripts, botnets, DDoS attacks, and social engineering. They use anonymity to hide their true names and locations.One of the main tools that Killnet and Anonymous actively use is social engineering. It allows you to gain access to confidential information by deceiving people. They can also exploit vulnerabilities in systems and networks to gain access to information.
The set of Killnet and Anonymous tools depends on the personal tools of a particular person who at some point decided to speak on behalf of the community that "represents the interests" of one or another side of a high-profile event.
It turns out that anyone can make a statement from an Anonymous person or introduce themselves as a Kilnet hacker, committing a cyber attack, and also come up with a crime message.
Both groups are mostly seen organizing DDoS attacks. There is also the exploitation of some vulnerabilities, but this is not the main thing. To organize such attacks, you need to maintain a botnet that can generate the necessary volumes of traffic, so the constant expansion of this botnet is the second notable area of activity for these groups.
Goals and differences
Anonymous and Killnet differ in their attack methods and goals. Anonymous is better known for its political attacks on companies and government organizations, while Killnet is focused on economic gain and can use its skills for data theft and other criminal purposes.Wikipedia says that Anonymous is an international-level hacker, mostly known for cyber attacks on a political or ideological basis. The representatives of the group themselves may be offended by the definition of "hacker"that is too simple for their ideology. A group of Anonymous people position themselves as a subculture whose representatives are fighting for the Internet without censorship.
The movement started back in 2003 on the 4chan image board. Now Anonymous users have an official website, as well as Twitter Anonymous and other social networks.
One of the first famous Ananimus attacks was the attack on the Churches of Scientology in the United States in 2008. The organization constantly advocated banning this or that content, then the adherents of censorship were attacked by Anonymous hackers.
Two years later, Anonymous users attacked the websites of the US Copyright Office for trying to shut down The Pirate Bay torrent tracker.
In addition to protecting the right to free speech on the Internet, Anonymous appeals often relate to political events. So they threatened to "erase" Israel from the Internet during the conflict with Palestine or declared war on the terrorist group "Islamic State" (a terrorist group banned in Russia).
The Killnet hacker group exists not so long ago as the Anonymous group. Who are Killnet became widely known after they managed to put down the official Anonymous website in response to Anonymous ' appeal to the Russians on March 3. In their appeal Anonymus in 2022, hackers promised to empty the accounts of Russians.
Wikipedia says that Killnet is a Russian hacker group that is known for its attacks on state institutions of NATO countries. Among those who came under fire from the Killnet group are enterprises and government agencies in the Czech Republic, Italy, Moldova, Norway, the United States and other countries.
At the end of 2022, Killnet hackers announced in their Telegram channel that the site of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation was hacked by representatives of the group.
In an interview with "Gazeta.En" the founder and former leader of the group Killnet-Killmilk said that Killnet appeared in November 2021. But the news about the Killnet hacker attacks, according to Yandex and Google, dates back much earlier. Experts believe that the Killnet group was created initially for obtaining commercial benefits by its participants – theft and sale of data, as well as blackmail.
The main difference between Killnet and Anonymous is political motivation. Killnet, for now, clearly positions itself as a pro-Russian patriotic group that attacks those it considers enemies of the state. Anonymous has broader views, and the list of" victims "includes organizations ranging from the Church of Scientology to Mastercard, and from the Vatican to the "Islamic State" (a terrorist organization banned in Russia).
On paper, both groups advocate freedom and security on the Internet, but these are too vague concepts that allow for unexpected interpretations.
Conclusions
The Anonymous gang has been known for a long time and tries to attract attention by using high-profile global incidents, whether they are political or socially significant events. One of the most striking examples is the announcement of Russia's cyber war and the appeal of Anonymous on Youtube to Putin. But in the hacker group's portfolio, this is just one of the cases. If you search for the latest Killnet news, it is not easy to find information other than that related to attacks and statements aimed at protecting Russia.From this, we conclude that, most likely, the Anonymous group was originally created as a community of people united by certain views and ideals, that is, as an opposition, a cell aimed at fighting unfair issues, in the opinion of its members, in a criminal way.
Speaking of Killnet hackers, we can assume two options. The first is that the group has really existed for a long time, but it rarely got into the information field, since the main activity of its members is aimed at making money through cybercrime. And now they are using the chance to support the interests of Russia, in an attempt to "cover up" the eyes of the servants of the law a little on their activities and / or count on privileges from the state in response to selfless patriotism on the cyber field. The second option – Killnet hakers were created quite recently and with one single purpose-to serve as a Russian response in a cyber war with hacker groups that are aggressively opposed to Russia.
