Cyber Mobilisation 2.0: Capitalisation and Instigation of Hacktivists and Vigilantes in Future Conflicts
Abstract:
Participation in contemporary cyber warfare can be as simple as playing a game or just allowing your computer to perform Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. In the future, hacktivists and vigilantes could potentially act as an outsourced cyber force that is dispersed around the world in a constant state of readiness. In this article the authors discuss how nation states might capitalise and instigate hacktivists and vigilantes in future conflicts. Firstly, the authors revisit the concepts of ‘hacktivism’, ‘vigilantism’, and ‘cyber proxy’, and aim to define the novel concept of ‘cyber mobilisation’. Secondly, the role of hacktivists and vigilantes in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war is explained and the cyber mobilisation practices of both countries are described. Thirdly, the authors discuss how hacktivists and vigilantes justify their behaviour to themselves. Fourthly, the authors explore the elements and techniques of potential future cyber mobilisation. And finally, the risks and challenges related to worldwide cyber mobilisation and the individual participation in global cyber warfare are discussed.
AUTHORS
Information Technology Division, Cyber Defence Finnish Defence Research Agency, Riihimäki,
Finland
Dr. Mari Ristolainen is a Researcher at the Finnish Defence Research Agency. She has studied psychology at the Moscow State University and she earned a doctorate in Russian Language and Cultural Studies from the University of Joensuu in 2008. She has been conducting postdoctoral research in the field of Russian and Border Studies in several Academy of Finland- and EU-funded projects at the University of Eastern Finland and at the University of Tromso. Her current research interests include cyber warfare as a phenomenon, Russian digital sovereignty, and the governance of cyber/information space.
Finnish Defence Research Agency Information Technology division, Cyber Defence
Riihimäki, Finland
Elias Simojoki, while serving as a conscript research assistant at the Information Technology Division in the Finnish Defence Research Agency, conducted research on hacktivism and vigilantism. He is currently continuing his studies on theoretical physics and mathematics at the Aalto University.
Human Performance Division Finnish Defence Research Agency Tuusula,
Finland
Toni Virtanen has a PhD in psychology. He is currently working as a researcher at the Human Performance Division in the Research Institute of the Finnish Defence Forces. His topics of interest are human factors, cyber psychology, cognitive warfare, social hacking, and information security.
Published In
Journal of Information Warfare
The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.
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