Hacker Phineas Fisher is Trying To Start a 'Hack Back' Political Movement (vice.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The hacker who breached Hacking Team and FinFisher is trying to get more people to "hack back" and fight "the system." For some, thanks to his targeted attacks and sophisticated political views, Phineas Fisher is quickly becoming the most influential hacktivist of the last few years. In response to his most recent hack where he released a 39-minute how-to video showing how to strip data from targeted websites, specifically a website of the Catalan police union, Phineas Fisher told Motherboard, "Everything doesn't have to be big. I wanted to strike a small blow at the system, teach a bit of hacking with the video, and inspire people to take action." Biella Coleman, professor at McGill University in Montreal, believes Phineas Fisher has a good chance of inspiring a new generation of hacktivists and "setting the stage for other hackers to follow in his footsteps." She says he has been better at choosing targets and justifying his actions with more rounded and sophisticated political and ethical views than Anonymous and LulzSec-inspired hackers. Phineas Fisher told Motherboard, "I don't want to be the lone hacker fighting the system. I want to inspire others to take similar action, and try to provide the information so they can learn how."

Comments

example of his "sophisticated political views"?

[sittingnut]

how about an example of his "sophisticated political views"?
or is that an euphemism for whatever views writer of this puff piece holds?

any real "sophisticated political view" would be nuanced and will not have a binary view of society and groups in it.
but without binary views and resulting simplistic us versus them mentality, there wont be any "targets" to "attack" using illegal methods.

Re:example of his "sophisticated political views"?

[SQL Error]

He's an anarchist. Which these days means an emo kid with internet access.

Re:example of his "sophisticated political views"?

[sabbede]

Okay, that's lousy behavior on the part of apparently corrupt officials. How exactly is anonymous vandalism any better? If his political views are so sophisticated, why isn't he engaging the political process and using valid means to promote said views? Like organizing nonviolent protests, engaging with the electorate, using the democratic process to bring about systemic change?

Vandalism only discredits his cause. A sophisticated political actor should have the sense to avoid such blunders; these are the acts of an immature fool. Gandhi was no vandal. Martin Luther King Jr. was no vandal. They were brave, sophisticated and wise enough to use the system to correct its injustices. They persuaded others to join them instead of attacking those who disagreed.

Re:example of his "sophisticated political views"?

[coofercat]

Okay, that's lousy behavior on the part of apparently corrupt officials. How exactly is anonymous vandalism any better? If his political views are so sophisticated, why isn't he engaging the political process and using valid means to promote said views? Like organizing nonviolent protests, engaging with the electorate, using the democratic process to bring about systemic change?

Hmm... let me see now... because none of those methods work, perhaps?

Vandalism only discredits his cause.

Only if you think that way. If you're expecting a nice non-violent protest where everyone picks up their own litter and goes home at the time the police say they should, then of course you're going to think anything other than that is 'discrediting'.

I'm not going to say 'hactivism' is the Right Thing, but as we saw with the recent Panama leaks, it sure can make changes in the world. In that sense, I'd place it above non-violent protest, which recent history shows does pretty much nothing.

Re:example of his "sophisticated political views"?

[Chas]

Pretty much. Because such "minds" are nearly as sharp as a rubberized butter spreader (so dull you can't even call it a knife).

Basically all these modern script kiddie hacker activist-wannabes understand is "us and them".

So long as they perceive themselves as "the underclass", they're "morally" justified in doing pretty much ANYTHING. And, in their own mind, it's "okay", because they're on the side of "Right".
And if they hurt innocent bystanders? Oh well, to make a omelette... Just so long as THEY are the chef and not the eggs.

In reality, they're primarily power-tripping pseudofascist assholes who would fail a basic ethics course, because they have none.

Re: example of his "sophisticated political view

[Anonymous Coward]

Anarchists reject authority. Talibans and Daesh operate under authority. They ain't no anarchists. Black block may qualify although they're mostly left wing useful idiots whose actions are used to justify even more brutal crackdowns on legitimate protests.

Re: example of his "sophisticated political views"

[tigersha]

Gravillo Princip, who started the First, and indirectly the Second World War was an Anarchist. 100 Million dead people later, Europe is still ruled by a government

Yeah, man!

[KermodeBear]

Yeah, man! *Puff!* Gotta attack the system, man! *Puff!* Like, dude, the system is keeping us all down, like, dude, it's all part of *Puff!* the military industrial complex, man! I'm so, like, sophisticated in my political views, *Puff!* like, dude, you know? It's all about the system and the man, man! This is strong shit! *Puff!*

The 60s called. It wants its pot smoking hippies back.

Sorry, Phineas, but someone with "sophisticated" political views doesn't talk about "The System." They talk about specific policies, they talk about history, they talk about context and cause and effect. I respect your abilities to compromise computer systems, but if all you have is "fight the system" then you are not ready, at all, to talk about politics.