These actions also represent a dangerous threat that can create extensive damage to the IT community by circumventing security and opening up breaches in existing systems.
On the security perspective, there are two very different viewpoints. On one side, hacktivists are considered cyber criminals that should be found and prosecuted. On the other side, despite being conscious of the possible problems they can cause, some opinions maintain that they are vital voice of the people that bring hidden agendas out into the open for all to see. The way hacktivists define themselves is important " they don't want to be associated or compared with cyber criminals who hack into websites and other entities for financial or personal gain. Hacktivists set out to make political statements by attacking targeted websites and breaching databases for the purpose of changing public perceptions. A social or political activist can break into, and wreak havoc on, a secure computer system to expose documents and other vital information related to their cause. Hacktivism may be directed at corporate or government targets, depending on the topic being protested. Examples of hacktivism include denial of service attacks, which shut down a system to prevent customer access, distribution of software that enables users to access censored web pages, and the leaking of sensitive information to both the media and the common citizen. LulzSec and Anonymous are two well-known hacktivist groups whose activities have recently made headlines.
Hacktivism developed during the 1980's, possibly began with the takeover of an HBO satellite signal by a hacker known as Captain Midnight, who then used the satellite to broadcast a pirated signal that protested the subscription rates for satellite dish owners. Throughout the late 1980's and the 1990's, a number of politically motivated hacking incidents received wide media coverage.