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Oliver Hennessey

Relax: Twitter's New Censorship Policy Is Actually Good for Activists - 6 views

mashable.com/...twitter-censorship-activism

Net308_508 Twitter community organisation political protest censor

shared by Oliver Hennessey on 26 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Oliver Hennessey on 26 Mar 12
     
    Catone, J. (2012). Relax: Twitter's New Censorship Policy Is Actually Good for Activists. Mashable. Retrieved March 23, 2012 from http://mashable.com/2012/01/27/twitter-censorship-activism/ This news article from the online news site Mashable takes a look at the announcement that Twitter will now censor tweets on a country-by-country basis, and argues that this is actually a good thing for online activists. This is contrary to the widespread backlash that has been made against Twitter with users pledging to boycott the service over its new censorship rules. The author points out that Twitter has always been subject to takedown requests, and that this was on a global scale so that if a tweet or user was removed it had to be done for everyone in the world. The author believes it is a lot better that "now, Twitter can remove that tweet in that country, but allow the world to see it". His rationale is that everyone outside of the offending country can still see the tweets, and that if Twitter were to refuse a takedown notice from an oppressive regime it could have its service totally blocked for all users in that country. The fact that Twitter has pledged to increase its transparency in dealing with takedown notices strengthens his argument. I agree with the author on this and find this an especially useful resource as it provides links to circumvent Twitter's technology in an effort to get around censors, and arguments that this new change could even allow the message of censored activists to be more powerful.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Dean Strautins on 27 Mar 12
     
    Listen to how people can create thousands of unique Twitter accounts to manipulate the messages on Twitter http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/backgroundbriefing/dont-trust-the-web/3725726 Therefore Twitter needs some rules.
  • Victoria Jobling on 09 Apr 12
     
    This article discusses Twitter's announcement that they can "censor tweets on a country-by-country basis" (Catone, 2012). This policy change initially received backlash online, as users did not understand how beneficial this could be for some activists. In comparison to other articles shared in the project, this news report is not of as great a value, however, it is still relevant to the topic and highlights the importance of sharing information with the world, rather than a local community. The significance of censoring on a country-by-country basis is that when a tweet or user is blocked in a specific country, like Egypt, people outside of Egypt can still view the blocked user and their tweets (Catone, 2012). Prior to the policy change, a censored user or tweet was blocked worldwide, meaning that people can still communicate with the rest of the world (Catone, 2012). This change is of great importance to political activists in many countries like Egypt, Libya and Tunisia, because it means that they can continue to update other nations of the latest circumstances and events. During the Arab Revolution, people captured photos and video footage, not just to show to their local community, but also to provide credible evidence to the outside world (Beaumont, 2011). Clearly, this highlights Twitter's support for protestors in developing or struggling nations, as they have provided an outlet for activists to reach and inform a wider audience. While this article was not as useful as others, it is relevant to the topic and appears to be a reliable source. It, quite simply, demonstrates the importance of being heard in an online environment. Reference: Beaumont, P. (2011, February 25). The Truth about Twitter, Facebook and the Uprisings in the Arab World. The Guardian. Retrieved April 9, 2012, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/25/twitter-facebook-uprisings-arab-libya?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
  • Stephen R on 10 Apr 12
     
    This article is of relevance to my chosen topic (the Anonymous online activism group) as it deals with Twitter and the way oppressive governments seek to deal with it's collaborative and organisational power. Mansfield-Devine (2011) discusses how Anonymous use Twitter heavily as a method of collaboration during their activism operations. Though the article says otherwise, if Twitter's censorship were to inhibit this kind of collaboration this could affect the way in which Anonymous organises itself. The reliability of the source is reasonable. Mashable may be a somewhat sensationalist online news website at times, but this article in particular has many links within allowing one to see the sources behind various claims. The article is of considerable relevance to the topic of online movements as it deals with threats to online activism. Twitter itself is subject to pressure to silence of voices of dissension in certain rendering Twitter less useful for activism purposes. I found the article somewhat useful. It highlights that Twitter impervious to control and censorship. It also highlights that Twitter is a powerful tool for organising uprisings and political movements. This article is quite valuable to the overall collaborative resource development project as it is reasonably reliable, deals with the collaborative potential of Twitter and highlights some of the threats to online movements. Mansfield-Devine, Steve. 2011. "Anonymous: Serious threat or mere annoyance?" Network Security 1: 4-10. http://dx.doi.org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1016/S1353-4858(11)70004-6
  • jessica_mann on 11 Apr 12
     
    Prior to reading this article, I had not been aware of Twitter's new censorship policy related to each individual country. After reading the title of the article, I failed to see how censorship on Twitter could possibly be considered to be a good thing for activists so I was interested to see the writer's arguments. I definitely agree that Twitter's opting to censor certain tweets is the more desirable outcome than a whole country be denied access to the site. Twitter's approach to censorship, something that they don't seem to be able to avoid on some level, has been handled in the best way possible given the circumstances. I believe that transparency of the 'take down requests' has real potential to alleviate some of the frustration users may feel when they notice that something that was there yesterday is suddenly gone today. This method of publically displaying the reason why something has been removed seems to work well for YouTube in similar censorship cases, particularly in relation to copyright cease and desist claims.
Jocelyn Workman

Conflict and Disaster Management in a Hyper-connected World - 18 views

Collins article is a useful resource as it discusses the need to increase hyper-connectivity in civil-military responses, with government and non-government organisations engaging with the wider ne...

Net308_508 collaboration social media disaster volunteering crisis movements microvolunteering communication twitter texting technology

started by ruenhongo on 23 Mar 12 1 follow-up, last by Jocelyn Workman on 07 Apr 12
Jocelyn Workman

Distributed Networks and Collaboration Following a Technological Disaster - 13 views

Sutton's article discusses the use of Twitter following a technological disaster on 22 December 2008 at the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Kingston Fossil Plant where a coal waste containment p...

Net308_508 collaboration social media technology twitter community mobilization Wikipedia recovery crisis disaster management organisation microvolunteering

started by ruenhongo on 23 Mar 12 1 follow-up, last by Jocelyn Workman on 07 Apr 12
Jocelyn Workman

Expecting the Unexpected: The Need for a Networked Terrorism and Disaster Response Stra... - 14 views

Stephenson and Bonabeau's article (2007) proposes an alternative strategic approach for emergencies that utilises the concepts of 'swarm intelligence' and 'netwar' (2007, p. 2), a combination of co...

Net308_508 collaboration community social media Twitter Wikipedia Disaster Management Crisis Response

started by jessica_mann on 26 Mar 12 2 follow-ups, last by Jocelyn Workman on 07 Apr 12
Jocelyn Workman

Social Media and Disasters: Current Uses, Future Options, and Policy Considerations - 17 views

This CRS (Congressional Research Service) Report for Congress by Lindsay, provides an organisational perspective of how social media have been and might be used to improve emergency response and re...

Net308_508 Twitter social media community collaboration Wikipedia Crowd

started by jessica_mann on 26 Mar 12 2 follow-ups, last by Jocelyn Workman on 07 Apr 12
jessica_mann

Japan's social safety net: Facebook's Disaster Message Board - 7 views

This article addressed similar themes to the articles that I included in my own research on collaboration and disaster management. Of particular relevance is the article titled, 'Crisis in a Networ...

Net308_508 collaboration social media technology volunteering disaster twitter facebook crisis mobile phones google Japan community victims

started by ruenhongo on 23 Mar 12 1 follow-up, last by jessica_mann on 11 Apr 12
michelangelo magasic

STEAL THIS FILM - 2 views

www.stealthisfilm.com/Part1

Net308_508 BitTorrent creativity ideological struggle solidarity

shared by michelangelo magasic on 25 Mar 12 - Cached
  • michelangelo magasic on 25 Mar 12
     
    Steal this Film is a documentary about bittorrent culture centred around the story of the Swedish torrent tracking website The Pirate Bay. In telling their story, the Pirate Bay members relate quite early on that they are not only a filesharing website but also an organisation for free speech. We see bittorrent organisations as situated within the wider context of media piracy and filesharing networks as clandestine organisations that must be diffuse in order to evade detection by anti p2p groups. The Pirate Bay's struggle against media outlets is elevated to a battle against American cultural hegemony. Within this context Kent's (2011) reading of the swarm as a simulacra of group identity can be seen as a defence - a tactic - as deCerteau (1984) puts it for the weak to re-appropriate the power of the strong. Filesharing is a form of protest. By publicising their struggle, The Pirate Bay build a bridge between physical and virtual communities. The film features spontaneous interviews with people on the street."The internet is too big, you can't fight it, (27mins)" says a girl with blue hair. Is she referring to the network of computers which make up the internet, or the strength of communities which practice filesharing, the linkages and solidarity of people across the world? This footage awakens the reader's conceptions of a link between physical and virtual activities, online collaboration breeds a solidarity between users which can echo beyond the activities of the swarm. We see bittorrent used not solely as a method for obtaining entertainment but as a vehicle for ideological struggle. The faces in the movie are conspicuously youthful and one sees that they collaborate not only in terms of files but also in ideas and viewpoints. We see bittorrent as a tool for worldwide collaboration/change. References Certeau, M. (1984), The Practice of Everyday Life. University of California Press, Berkeley. Kent M (2011), 'Strangers in the Sw
  • ...3 more comments...
  • samara hartnett on 07 Apr 12
     
    There is no escaping the debate about copyright when studying the Internet. This however is refreshing point of few surrounding the topic. The reliability of the source is sound as long as a viewer is wary of any bias as it is solely from the Pirate Bay point of view. There is a strong representation of a youth culture also. The youth appear tired of being force fed the institutionalized approach to media that had previously existed. As the interviewees comment, the raid on Pirate Bay was clearly a political power play and one that backfired. There is defiance towards America in particular as the documentary presents evidence of its attempt to pressure Sweden into sabotaging those who are 'threatening' Hollywood industries. Copyright laws do not translate across international boarders and for the first time, thanks to this documentary, I could actually see how this might play out in the real world. This is both valuable and useful in the overall understanding of the Bit torrent topic. Of particular importance to me was the statement made by one of the Piratbyran creators, Rasmus Fleischer, stated that they are 'our basic principle is not about building empires' (The League of Noble Peers, 2006). This is the most crucial difference between the Hollywood approach to copyright and the P2P approach to copyright. Just because media is made available for free consumption does not mean that it will not translate into sales on any level. I went away from this documentary feeling that industry producers and distributors need to get creative with their content, listen to their consumers and create a shared experience of shared benefit to both sides of the argument.
  • Paul Francis on 08 Apr 12
     
    This roughly thirty minute long documentary, while being a very "copy-left" focussed, helps to place BitTorrent within the context of global politics. It is about "ThePirateBay", one of the biggest BitTorrent trackers in history. ThePirateBay's servers are physically located in Sweden, and this documentary shows how Swedish law has interacted with American and international laws about copyright and file sharing. It uses various clips from many different interviews, including the people central to ThePirateBay but also Swedish citizens seemingly randomly interviewed on the street. It is interesting to note that many of them do seem to have some knowledge about ThePirateBay and also express their support for the site. This sense of community surrounding BitTorrent reminds me of the Australian youths in the "BitTorrents and Family Guy: teenage peer group interactions around a peer-to-peer Internet download community" paper. This documentary highlights the feeling of oppression and resistance to control of media which seems to underlie the communities who use BitTorrent. Combined with the copyright laws, these are worth thinking about because of how they influence the way people use BitTorrent to collaborate, and also how people collaborate to support file-sharing, including by demonstration as seen in the documentary.
  • theresia sandjaja on 09 Apr 12
     
    This film provides various aspects of online file sharing, particularly, in relation to music and movies. The topics discussed in the film include: the difference in copyright laws between America and Sweden, how online file sharing changed the nature of networking within society. The film also presented the contrast of perspectives of online file sharing held by younger consumers as opposed to those of the older producers. In America, major music and film industries regard peer-to-peer file sharing as an infringement to copyright, while in Sweden there is no copyright law for film and music productions that are available in bittorent. A Swedish user disputed that American copyright law should not intervene in other countries because there is no geographical limitation in the Internet. The age gap also highlighted different perspectives, for example, younger users believe in the right to public access while the older producers believe in that commodities (such as music and films) cannot be given to people for free. To argue this, the market of music and film industry cannot outlaw social change. Lastly, the activity of file sharing through bittorent has changed how the way society collaborates to exchange ideas and information. For example, the support to use bittorent is not documented in a fixed website but only transferred through online forums where users collaborate as social groups. This film relates well to the resources I had about Youtube in terms of different perspective based on age. Young people tend to use online media fluently and do not see copyright implications. The movements towards file sharing has become even more apparent, this is shown by social online collaboration is the current method to consume popular media, how the consumer recreate this media and contribute to the mass again.
  • owen_davies on 10 Apr 12
     
    Steal this Film, is a short 30-minute documentary that looks at the social politics and debate about file sharing and the bit torrent client, focusing on Swedish torrent tracking website The Pirate Bay. The documentary outlines how file sharing and copyright is a touchy subject within American laws, and through the documentary we are able to hear differing opinions on who is right and who wrong. The various people that are interviewed who are involved with the Pirate Bay take a 'us against the world' approach and make it clear that technically they aren't doing anything wrong, and through the power of free speech they are making their voice heard. Numerous youths are also interviewed and each seem to be of the copyleft opinion that what they are doing is almost some sort of activism, and believe that these torrent communities are un-able to be stopped. I would also have to agree with this as a 'Pirate' myself and also through the learning that I have undertaken while at university, that this excuse by the Movie/Music industry that they aren't being hurt through piracy is totally utterly false and I think as one of the speakers in the video says "We aren't going to wake up one day and find that all music artists have died because of Piracy". In fact I would go as far to say that because of this cry-baby outlook by these industries that the bit torrent and file-sharing communities have been strengthened because of it.
  • jessica_mann on 11 Apr 12
     
    I was taken aback when I went to download 'Steal This Film' and it popped up as a torrent file in BitTorrent. I suppose I wasn't used to, what I perceived as, 'legitimate' content being provided in the form of a torrent. The film stated, "right now ten million people are using BitTorrent" and indeed, at the time of watching, I was also using BitTorrent. One of the things I found admirable, and also a little surprising, was the resilience of the Pirate Bay founders. Even after being raided and shut down by the authorities, their belief in what they were doing, and their advocacy of free speech, was too strong to just let go. I also found the film interesting in its depiction of the various anti piracy campaigns created by Hollywood film studios juxtaposed with the interviews of young people claiming that the amount of money made by Hollywood is "absurd". Even if crew members and writers are suffering at the hands of film piracy, like the people interviewed, I find it difficult to sympathise with Hollywood's view point when you can safely assume that the largest chunk of proceeds made from any film go to the 'talent' and not those people working so hard behind the scenes. Perhaps Hollywood losing money could be considered a positive outcome, as so many subpar films probably should never have been made in the first place. Perhaps having less money to fund any film on a whim will lead film studios to choose their projects more carefully, resulting in the delivery of quality rather than quantity to film consumers.
jessica_mann

How to cheat BitTorrent and why nobody does - 19 views

Personally I use BitTorrent for the following reasons: I find it incredibly simple to use, the program loads quickly and doesn't seem to use much hardware resource and it isn't laced with advertise...

Net308_508 collaboration community BitTorrent

started by owen_davies on 25 Mar 12 1 follow-up, last by jessica_mann on 11 Apr 12
Chin Sing Wong

Incentives in Bit Torrent Induce Free Riding - 27 views

As most of my readings are focusing on analyzing the operating status of BitTorrent world, in this task, I found more readings are relevant to the issue of free-riding. This paper again take notes ...

Net308_508 collaboration community BitTorrent

started by owen_davies on 25 Mar 12 2 follow-ups, last by Chin Sing Wong on 10 Apr 12
ianzed

Making the News: Movement Organisations, Media attention and the public agenda - 18 views

This article very loosely relates to my focus on Anonymous. Although not particularly relevant to my focus, it does provide a decent contextual setting for explaining why Anonymous receives so much...

Net308_508 collaboration community Crowd participatory

started by Jannicke Rye on 25 Mar 12 3 follow-ups, last by ianzed on 10 Apr 12
Stephen R

Pastebin: How a popular code-sharing site became a hacker hangout - 2 views

thenextweb.com/...me-the-ultimate-hacker-hangout

NET308_508 Anonymous hacktivism hacking activism collaboration organisation tools pastebin.com pastebin IRC internet relay chat

shared by Stephen R on 25 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Stephen R on 25 Mar 12
     
    Matt Brian, mobile editor for The Next Web, discusses the popularity of pastebin.com among hacking (or perhaps more accurately 'cracking') groups. Brain notes that Pastebin is a tool originally designed for collaboratively editing code, but has since gained popularity among malicious security crackers as a method of releasing stolen data to the public. While there are numerous spinoffs of the simple text-sharing concept, pastebin.com remains the most popular. Searching the pastebin.com website for 'anonymous' or their (now disbanded and arrested) spinoff group 'Lulzsec' reveals a considerable level of Pastebin usage by Anonymous. Manifestos and anouncment seem to be a popular use of Pastebin by Anonymous. For example searching '#opegypt' reveals a list of sites taken down by Anonymous - perhaps it was collaboratively updated while the operation took place? The Anonymous group link to Pastebin.com pastes (or other equivalent websites) through blogs and twitter accounts associated with the Anonymous movement. Brain notes its utility in escaping the 140 character limitation of twitter, whilst still retaining anonymity with minimum fuss. If illegal material was posted on Anonymous blogs such as anonops.blogspot.com, youranonnews.tumblr.com or anonnews.org it would likely violate terms of service and result in blogs being closed. Pastebin.com therefore, provides a suitably nebulous zone for posting illegal content. Brain makes extensive note of the use of Pastebin.com to release sensitive, stolen information to the web. Although the hacking groups mentioned are not always directly related to Anonymous, it highlights the usage of Pastebin.com as a tool for sharing information. Hacker groups could potentially be working on releases or manifestos collaboratively with their peers, although this in not discernible in the final Pastebin product. Brian, Matt. 2011, June 5. "Pastebin: How a popular code-sharing site became the ultimate hacker hangout." The Next Web: Social M
  • ianzed on 10 Apr 12
     
    This article provides an interesting (if somewhat brief) account of the Anonymous movement, and associated (as well as un-associated) hacktivist networks, using a relatively simple internet tool and altering the intended usage to suit the purposes of the movement. The article focuses mainly on the usage of Pastebin by an offshoot of the Anonymous movement called LulzSec, and how the group was able to use Pastebin to greatly aid their hacktivism efforts (Brian, 2011). Although now disbanded and with most of its members arrested (Apps, 2012), LulzSec very successfully utilised Pastebin for various leaks and links to their efforts of retrieving data from a number of high-profile organizations. This article touches on another example of the confrontational tactics for raising media awareness outlined by Andrews and Caren (2010), and thus the two articles may provide relevant references for discussions relating to the reactions to hacktivist groups such as LulzSec, as well as providing information regarding another tool used by such movements. In terms of my focus on the Anonymous movement, the article may not provide a direct reference to the divides between individuals within the movement based on motivation for activities under the Anonymous movement. The article does however provide a relevant secondary source for additional discussion relating to the way in which particular offshoots of the Anonymous movement operate. Andrews, K., & N. Caren. (2010) Making the News: Movement Organisations, Media Attention, and the Public Agenda. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=2527572391&sid=1&Fmt=6&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD Apps, P. (2012). LulzSec Arrests Hurt Hacker Groups, Anonymous Movement Hard To Kill. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/08/lulzsec-arrests-anonymous_n_1331982.html Brian, M. (July 5th, 2011). Pastebin: How a popular code-sharing site became the ultimate hacker hangout. Retrieved fr
Stephen R

Anonymous: serious threat or mere annoyance? - 5 views

www.sciencedirect.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/...S1353485811700046

NET308_508 Anonymous hacktivism hacking activism collaboration organisation tools LOIC low orbit ion cannon twitter internet relay chat IRC

shared by Stephen R on 25 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Stephen R on 25 Mar 12
     
    Steve Mansfield-Devine, editor of Network Security, analyses the threat of the Anonymous activist hacking group. In doing so he discusses the collaborative tools used to organise the members of Anonymous into a focussed effort. The tools discussed include the Low Orbit Ion Cannnon (LOIC) and various spinoffs, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and Twitter. Mansfield-Devine's discusses the Anonymous group's usage of the LOIC as a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) weapon. Mansfield-Devine makes a clear point that only with enough users is the LOIC effective, making the effective usage of the LOIC a collaborative operation. The more users collaborating with the tool, the more effective it becomes. Mansfield-Devine discusses how Anonymous members are coerced into participating in an LOIC attack, specifying IRC and Twitter as the main forms of mobilisation of members. His discussion highlights IRC as a primary form of organisation, with Twitter being taking a more secondary role in directing potential participants into IRC channels. Mansfield-Devine does note that Twitter became an integral part of Anonymous organisation when their domain names were taken offline by authorities during Anonymous operations. Tweets were sent out to redirect the Anonymous participants into new IRC chat rooms to continue the attack. Overall, this article concisely covers IRC, Twitter and LOIC based aspects of Anonymous collaboration and organisation. Mansfield-Devine, Steve. 2011. "Anonymous: Serious threat or mere annoyance?" Network Security 1: 4-10. http://dx.doi.org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1016/S1353-4858(11)70004-6
  • Kate Namestnik on 10 Apr 12
     
    In this article Mansfield-Devine explores the threat of the organisation Anonymous and the collaborative tools they use to organise the group. In relation to this, he specifies that Anonymous uses "Low Orbit Ion Cannnon (LOIC) and various versions, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and Twitter" as his key tools for facilitating organised attacks on institutions (Mansfield-Devine, 2011, p. 4). This article links to the article 'Kony 2012: The Template for Effective Crowdsourcing?' by Olubunmi Emenanjo, on more than one level, they are both about outside organisations against institutions, and they both undeniably rely on social media and the power of the crowds for the mobilization and facilitation of their actions and recruitment (Emenanjo, 2012). The success of the Kony 2012 campaign and Anonymous's attacks can be pin-pointed to how the organisations are aimed at a particular audience, reinforced by social media platforms, and most importantly how they harnessed networking tools to deliver their messages. However a major difference between the two groups is that the Kony 2012 organisation has a consistent online identity, while Anonymous has anonymity. Little is known about the organisation itself but the tools they utilise (LOIC, IRC, and Twitter) lead us so assume that their audiences engage with the organisation. References Emenanjo, O. (2012). Kony 2012: The Template for Effective Crowdsourcing? Communia. Retrieved from http://stipcommunia.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/kony-2012-the-template-for-effective-crowdsourcing/ Mansfield-Devine. (2011). Anonymous: Serious threat or mere annoyance?. Network Security, 1, 4-10. http://dx.doi.org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1016/S13534858(11)70004-6
  • ianzed on 10 Apr 12
     
    Although much of this article is not particularly useful to my focus on Anonymous, this article still raises some interesting notes. The way in which the author plays down the impact of Anonymous' actions towards the end of this article is of particular interest. The author often refers to the disorganized nature of the Anonymous movement, and suggests frequently that although a number of individuals may be involved, automated 'botnets' are often more effective than Anonymous members (Mansfield-Devine, 2011). For my focus, this is the most important part of the article because of the way in which the author neglects to take note of Anonymous members who do more than simply use LOIC and other DDoS attacks. Although it may be true that Anonymous DDoS attacks may not result in significant, long term damage to their targets, the disruption caused by such attacks can often provide enough distraction for Anonymous hacktivists to retrieve data from said targets. With hacktivist groups within movements such as Anonymous being responsible for the largest amount of stolen data in 2011 (AFP, 2012), Anonymous DDoS attacks could pave the way for much more damage to be done to websites than the temporary service disruptions noted by the author of this article. Mansfield-Devine, S. (2011). Anonymous: Serious threat or mere annoyance? Network Security 1: 4-10. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/science/article/pii/S1353485811700046 AFP. (2012). 'Hacktivists' biggest data thieves in 2011: Verizon. Retrieved from http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/13242086/hacktivists-biggest-data-thieves-in-2011-verizon/
Stephen R

Anatomy of an Anonymous Attack - 1 views

www.imperva.com/...omy_of_an_Anonymous_Attack.pdf

NET308_508 Anonymous hacktivism hacking activism collaboration organisation tools LOIC low orbit ion cannon twitter internet relay chat IRC youtube facebook

shared by Stephen R on 25 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Stephen R on 25 Mar 12
     
    This article, recently published by security firm Imperva, investigates how an Anonymous attack is mounted. A Particularly interesting point is that this article makes no mention of IRC channels, instead painting Facebook, Twitter and Youtube channels as the main methods of communication for Anonymous. Also interesting is that such communication is referred to as recruitment, recruitment of technically savvy hackers and not so technically savvy activists who are willing to participate in the attack. Particular attention should be paid to pages 6-8 which outline the recruitment activities over Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. Imperva outline the technical methods used to stage the attack, mentioning that there are 10 -15 'Anons' working to analyse the victim website for security vulnerabilities. These are more experienced hackers who are searching for a vulnerability that might allow them to retrieve private data from the victim (p.6). Although not mentioned in this article, perhaps these experienced hackers collaborate using Internet Relay Chat. When no vulnerability was found, Imperva notes that Anonymous instead tries a DDoS attack, but instead of employing the LOIC, a web based version is used for ease of participation (p.13). This way, users of any device can be recruited (through social media) into participate in the attack with minimum of barriers to entry. Although this article focusses heavily on the technical aspect of the attack, a significant portion of the article deals with the recruitment of participant through social media, alongside discussion of the online variant of the LOIC collaborative Denial of Service tool. Anatomy of an Anonymous Attack. 2012. Imperva. http://www.imperva.com/docs/HII_The_Anatomy_of_an_Anonymous_Attack.pdf
  • ianzed on 10 Apr 12
     
    This document may prove to be quite a significant additional reference to my focus of my chosen topic of the Anonymous movement and hacktivism. This article discusses precisely what Mansfield-Devine (2011) neglected to note; that within the Anonymous movement, there are a number of individuals with significant hacking skills who are able to retrieve valuable data from the targets of Anonymous attacks. The article quite thoroughly deconstructs the order in which Anonymous attacks typically occur, the differences between the two major types of individuals who participate, and circumstances under which Anonymous attacks are generally able to be successfully performed (2012). Of particular interest, is the emphasis placed on the importance of acknowledging the fact that Anonymous attacks are not always as harmless as they may appear. Another interesting note is found within the conclusion of the report. The report suggests that targeted, small-scale data retrieval attacks are the preferred means of attack for the Anonymous movement and that "DDoS is the hacker's last resort" (Anatomy of an Anonymous Attack, 2012). This would suggest that unlike many sources of information regarding Anonymous hacktivism attacks, Imperva has identified the serious nature of many incidents involving the Anonymous movement, which do not necessarily receive as much immediate attention as a simple DDoS attack may. Anatomy of an Anonymous Attack. (2012). Imperva. Retrieved from http://www.imperva.com/docs/HII_The_Anatomy_of_an_Anonymous_Attack.pdf Mansfield-Devine, S. (2011). Anonymous: Serious threat or mere annoyance? Network Security 1: 4-10. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/science/article/pii/S1353485811700046
Chin Sing Wong

Resisting free-riding behavior in BitTorrent - 17 views

This is another article that talk about resist/prevent free-rider behaviors in BitTorrent file sharing network. This paper more analyse from a technical standpoint, propose a quota-based encrypted ...

Net308_508 collaboration BitTorrent Torrent

started by Paul Francis on 25 Mar 12 2 follow-ups, last by Chin Sing Wong on 10 Apr 12
Chin Sing Wong

Resource demand and supply in BitTorrent content-sharing communities - 10 views

This article examined about the resources supply and demand and the relation between three different BitTorrent communities. It shows that the collaboration within BitTorrent communities is relate...

Net308_508 collaboration BitTorrent

started by Paul Francis on 25 Mar 12 1 follow-up, last by Chin Sing Wong on 10 Apr 12
Chin Sing Wong

Reward only is not enough: Evaluating and improving the fairness policy of the P2P file... - 10 views

To use p2p file sharing networking eMule/eDonkey as example, the content exchange process with credit in eMule/eDonkey and then verify the mathematical model by an agent-based simulation. However, ...

Net308_508 collaboration BitTorrent

started by Paul Francis on 26 Mar 12 1 follow-up, last by Chin Sing Wong on 10 Apr 12
Tamlin Dobrich

Harnessing the Wisdom of Crowds in Wikipedia: Quality Through Coordination - 5 views

kraut.hciresearch.org/...sdomOfCrowds_CSCWsubmitted.pdf

Net308_508 Wikipedia Wisdom_of_Crowds Coordination

shared by Tamlin Dobrich on 25 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Tamlin Dobrich on 25 Mar 12
     
    Kittur, A., & Kraut, R. (2008). Harnessing the Wisdom of Crowds in Wikipedia: Quality Through Coordination. Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved 2012, March 19th from http://kraut.hciresearch.org/sites/kraut.hciresearch.org/files/articles/Kittur08-WikipediaWisdomOfCrowds_CSCWsubmitted.pdf Harnessing the Wisdom of Crowds in Wikipedia: Quality Through Coordination is a study that looks into "the critical importance of coordination in effectively harnessing the "wisdom of the crowds" in online production environments". The article suggests that Wikipedia's success is reliant on significant and varied coordination from its users and not just determined by a large and diverse author-base as proposed in other studies (Arazy, Morgan, Ofer, Patterson, Raymond & Wayne, 2006). Elements such as editor(s) coordination methods, article lifecycle, and task interdependence determine whether a large author-base will be effective or counteractive in achieving high Wikipedia entry quality. The study found that unspoken expectations and a shared understanding (implicit coordination) between authors encouraged positive results when collaborating with a large author-base however more editors promoted a negative effect on article quality when using direct communication and verbal planning (explicit coordination). During the early stages of article development, both implicit and explicit coordination tend to promote content quality because author(s) need to establish structure, direction and scope of the article. For these high-coordination tasks, the study found it was more beneficial to have a small or core group of editors to set direction and as the article became more established, value can be maximized by distributing low-coordination tasks, such as fixing grammar, correcting vandalism and creating links, to a larger author-base.
  • FARNAZ SHAMS on 10 Apr 12
     
    This paper discusses the how online community can increase the size and quality of Wikipedia's article. In Wikipedia 40% of edits have done with the help of discussion page, which they focus on development of policies and procedures, communication and consensus building. Most of the editors read discussion page to know how they can increase the quality of the articles (Kittur & Kraut, n.d). According to my own studies, the most exiting research on Wikipedia belongs on how many times an article needs to have the highest quality? And why some articles have high level of quality and others not? Some contributors like to read and edit articles with similar subject and they do not edit other articles. So, Wikipedia, needs some soft wares to ask contributors' the duties they should do. For example, one article needs more reference link and another one needs more grammar correcting and of course, there are some people who their interest is finding relevant links or there are some others who like to correct grammatical mistake and they just need to know which article needs their help, so, these kind of soft wares can assert to contributors needs of articles and help of contributors Wikipedia can have equal level of quality for its articles (Ram, 2010). Ram, S. (2010). Who does what on Wikipedia? Available on http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1832403/who_does_what_on_wikipedia/
Victoria Jobling

The Revolutions Were Tweeted: Information Flows during the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian R... - 4 views

ijoc.org/...643

Net308_508 community Twitter social media collaboration organisation movement revolution activism political protest

shared by Victoria Jobling on 25 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Victoria Jobling on 25 Mar 12
     
    Lotan, G., Graeff, E., Ananny, M., Gaffney, D., Pearce, I., & boyd, d. (2011). The Revolutions Were Tweeted: Information Flows during the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions. International Journal of Communications, 5, 1375-1405. Retrieved March 24, 2012, from http://ijoc.org/ojs/index.php/ijoc/article/view/1246/643 This article investigates how information was disseminated via Twitter during the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions. It is clear that there were advantages in relying upon Twitter and social media during this time, because these sites provided real-time updates that mainstream media could not convey, due to the limitations of the platform, or censorship (Grossman, 2009; p.1399). The use of hashtags or key words assisted in the organisation of information, such as #sidibouzid and #Tunisia (p. 1376; p. 1395). However, the constant and rapid flow of content made it difficult to determine what is false and what is legitimate information - Twitter's strength and weakness in this situation. It is essential to understand how information can be organised and filtered through the positions of 'actor types' (classification of users in this study), making this article valuable to the study of political protests. There were many different actors mentioned but the most important contributors to the dissemination of content were journalists, bloggers, and activists. These actors had a tendency to retweet information from the same actor type or amongst the three aforementioned categories, to essentially create a sense of reliable organisation to the Twitter chaos (p. 1393). The study also concluded that individuals, rather than organisations, were considered more reliable during the uprising (p. 1398). This appears to demonstrate the scepticism associated with mainstream media in a society that no longer wishes to be talked 'at', but rather invo
  • Stephen R on 10 Apr 12
     
    This article relates my topic in its discussion of Twitter usage in online activism. The online activist group Anonymous (my topic of choice) also performed activist activities surrounding Egypt and Tunisia. Much of Anonymous' activities were organised through the use of Twitter making this article quite relevant. As suggested in the article, Anonymous did appear to have certain high powered actors who highlighted information of particular relevance to the operations, affecting the flow of information through the Twitter network. The article is published in a peer-reviewed journal making it a highly reliable source. It is also quite recent, written in 2011, which is a huge asset given the rate at which social networking technology progresses. The article is also perfectly relevant to the discussion of Twitter usage in political protests. The way that information flows and is determined critical or irrelevant through various actors' retweets is an important topic. I found the article quite useful as the topic is closely related to the online activism performed by the Anonymous group. This article contributes a great deal of value to this collaborative resource development project on a whole, as it is a reliable source, is very recent and it is highly relevant, dealing with Twitter as a collaboration and organisation tool.
Stephen R

Online Activism - 14 views

My topic of choice is the Anonymous activist group who's activities are often, but not exclusively, enacted online. The online activism by Anonymous is similar to the online activism described in Y...

Net308_508 collaboration organisation crowds china kony 2012 online activism

started by Kate Namestnik on 26 Mar 12 2 follow-ups, last by Stephen R on 10 Apr 12
samara hartnett

Social Media: A New Frontier for Retailers? - 6 views

www.utwente.nl/...constantinidessocialmedia.pdf

Net308_508 retail social media Smartphone consumer behaviour mobile devices

shared by samara hartnett on 21 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • samara hartnett on 25 Mar 12
     
    As with any critical research involving new technologies the acknowledgment of a 'lack of concrete academic scrutiny and scientific evidence' (Boria et al, 2008) is important. In this article it acts as a timely reminder that mobile devices are still a currently evolving technology. This point serves the reader well when they are trying to position the use of mobile devices and their abilities in sourcing information. There are a number of important points highlighted throughout the article that are directly linked to this evolution. Firstly the evolving role of the consumer that is emerging empowered, sophisticated, critical and well informed. Secondly the developments towards effective leveraging and deriving value from social media-based tools and thirdly the continual shift in consumer behavior away from 'corporate communication' and towards 'peer reviews', ultimately affecting buyer intentions (Boria et al, 2008). Taking the fore noted current evolution of mobile devices into account, a small suggestion that we are 'in the process of replacing phones…' (Boria et al, 2008) all together, can be best understood with reference to traditional mobile technologies. They could not access the Internet. Although this is the only direct reference to a mobile device there is extensive analysis into the sourcing of information by consumers. With out mentioning the Smartphone but accepting its general mainstream adoption, it is easy to assume that consumers sourcing and contributing product information could do so easily from their mobile devices whilst in the act of shopping.
  • samara hartnett on 25 Mar 12
     
    Reference: Boria, Constatinides and Romero. 2008. Social Media: A New Frontier for Retailers?. Retrieved from http://www.utwente.nl/mb/nikos/publications/ecpapers/constantinidessocialmedia.pdf
  • Velia Torres on 06 Apr 12
     
    This article is beneficial because it touches on key issues relating to the retail industry's lack of adaptation and understanding of online technologies. It highlights the future potential of online shopping, identifies non-adaptation of new technologies as a threat whilst pointing out the potential risk in adopting them. There has been a lot of media coverage about this topic in recent months and whilst this paper was written in 2008 it is not until now that many retail giants are utilising online platforms, take David Jones for example. The study mentions the lack of academic resources relating to Web 2.0 technologies, this is similar to the Twitter paper by Burton & Soboleva, 2011 where there is also little research relating to understanding the real value in the adaptation of Twitter by businesses. "Lack of concrete academic scrutiny and scientific evidence is a warning to businesses to be cautious when engaging in Social Media as marketing tools." (Boria et al, 2008). The article also mentions that retailers could misjudge available tools. This to me expresses the uncertainty that many had and might still have in jumping into these technologies and that there may be a general notion of not understanding their real value. Overall the shift in power from the organisation to the consumer is evident and the ubiquitous nature of the Internet through mobile usage adds to this shift. Crowd sourcing here plays a part because consumers have access to other consumers' opinions and recommendations. Web 2.0 is key, when a consumer has a question others can answer it, instead of the business itself, consumers trust other consumers. An attempt of crowd sourcing by retailers is also is evident here, examples are shown where retailers have tried to get customers to become co-producers or creative contributors, this also serves as a way to create stronger customer engagement. Additional referenc
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