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Glite Dictionary
💻 A protest hacker 💻 Related to protest hacking
hacktivist

hacktivist

4 7.5
A person who uses computers to attack or expose websites to support political and social causes
  • noun
  • /ˈhæktɪvɪst/
  • Literature
translation icon : hacktivista
  • The actions of the hacktivist sparked a debate about the ethics of online protest.
  • hacktivist group Anonymous
  • hacktivist group
  • hacktivist collective

He appeals to a very youthful hacktivist community.

Examples

  • When the hacktivist collective Anonymous formed a few years later, Hector was quickly drawn in.

    Terroir (2023)

  • The website was only one of many, as hacktivists from around the world joined in on the fray.

    Blog text (18)

  • Today, Hector has mixed feelings about his time as a hacktivist.

    Terroir (2023)

  • We believe we don't have the power to change this world for the better, and these hacktivists showed us we were wrong.

    Blog text (8)

  • The hacktivist group Anonymous is angry at Israel, and not just for launching deadly airstrikes on Gaza.

    Blog text (10)

  • Often when I talk with hacktivists, I get the feeling they think everyone should hack, that hacking is DIY.

    Blog text (21)

  • Among the most celebrated (and feared) of such groups is the one known as Anonymous, a loosely associated assemblage of hacktivists that gained national media attention, claiming that it had disrupted business for some of the biggest corporations online.

    Academic text (2011)

  • A well-known hacktivist group claimed responsibility for the cyber attack on the government website.

  • Many hacktivists advocate for social change through digital means, targeting companies that engage in unethical practices.

Synonyms

saboteur
vshacktivist
20 8.3

A person who damages things on purpose to hurt a group or country

uses computers to attack or disable networks for political or social causes

Surface Forms

hacktivist singular
hacktivists plural

Morphology

hacktivist = hack + activist (transparent) = hack + activist

Formed as a blend of 'hack' + 'activist' (via hacktivism); meaning is directly inferable as an activist who uses hacking.

Etymology

Hacktivist joins hack and activist, where hack means 'to break into or change computer systems' and activist means 'someone who works for a political or social cause'. So a hacktivist is a person who uses hacking to support, protest, or draw attention to a cause.