The art of hacking has become a popular trend to “shed light into darkness” in the Internet world.
Hackers, or “hacktivists,” as they are now being called, are using their computer intelligence to bring down major corporations and governments, that they believe to be corrupt.
Wikileaks is considered one of the top “hacktivists” groups to fight the recurring “cyber wars,” and one of the groups that has received the most attention from the media.
That attention caused mixed feelings among media audiences around the world.
Over the years Internet hacking has been used for many different activities.
Hackers hack websites to steal private and personal information, they have hacked for their own entertainment of outwitting security breaches and most recently, hackers are hacking to bring awareness to issues of today’s times.
The long list of why hackers hack brings up a good question: is there such thing as a “good” hacker and a “bad” hacker?
I believe there is.
Is it right for hacker groups to use computer skills to leak secret information on the Internet and release it to the public?
I would again have to say, yes.
As a journalist, I feel it is my job and responsibility to report the whole truth of a story, in an ethical way.
Hacktivist groups, such as Wikileaks and journalist Julian Assange, are also a part of the journalism world and have the right to report any truths they may come across, popular or not.
In Wikileak’s statement about who they are on their website, they state they are “an organization whose most important activity is to publish original source material alongside their news stories so readers and historians alike can see evidence of truth”.
They have an extended, ethical process of verifying all news stories and evidence that they receive and publish.
So why not bring truth to lies or misguidance that the government or major corporations have fed to the people?
Is it not the citizen’s right to know what truly is going on behind closed doors of meetings regarding war, finances, and even censorship?
Are we the people not allowed to call out an official when we feel certain rights are being revoked from us?
That is what Wikileaks has done. It has become a voice for the people questioning and fighting against any and all corruption created, through hacking.
The site has shed light to stories regarding war killings, torture and detention. Stories regarding censorship broke out, such as the story about a secret gag order on UK
Times and how it prevented publication of a story about the Minton report into toxic waste dumping back in Sept. 2009.
Wikileaks also leaked stories with evidence regarding government corruption, financing, taxes and trading like the looting of Kenya under President Daniel arap Moi and how he used $3,000,000,000 to swing the election in Dec. 2007.
These examples are just a condensed list compared to all other issues of corruption Wikileaks has touched on.
Some people say revealing the uncut and often raw footage to the public is an act of a criminal or someone who is unpatriotic.
I would disagree and plead the opposite.
These “hacktivists” are putting themselves out there for judgment, scrutiny and even in some instances, incarceration, all for the sake of a better future for citizens all over the world.
Their only hope is to see evil and corruption cease to exist in the leadership of the nations and they are willing to stand up and fight for justice when no one else will.
Unpatriotic? No.
Honorable? Yes.
