Hackers and social media – who are they and what do they do?
Hackers and social media
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had his Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest accounts briefly hacked at the weekend, according to various reports.
A hacker group called OurMine reportedly took over the billionaire’s Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest accounts on Sunday according to screen-grabs of Tweets since removed from Zuckerberg’s accounts, which are rarely used by the Facebook mogul.
According to Wikipedia “a hacker is someone who focuses on security mechanisms of computer and network systems. While including those who endeavour to strengthen such mechanisms, it is more often used by the mass media and popular culture to refer to those who seek access despite these security measures.”
We don’t know the reason why they do this, but it might be because “Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, challenge, enjoyment, or to evaluate those weaknesses to assist in removing them. The subculture that has evolved around hackers is often referred to as the computer underground.”
It is not unusual for Hackers to be portrayed as ‘villains’, because they usually invade someone else’s privacy and they gain access to computers and accounts. This does not mean, however, that they are always up to no good. It is in fact known that organizations such as “Anonymous” have indeed done something good for the people. For instance, they published the names of white men who belong to the KKK, they decided to openly declare a virtual war against presidential candidate Donald Trump, and later they did the same against Mainstream Media such as Fox, CNN, NBC and more…
Hidden behind a “V for Vendetta” mask they spread anonymous videos online and they let everyone know that pretty much anyone smart enough can become part of this organization, but if that someone makes a mistake, then he or she will have to take the fall. Breaching into someone’s computer, going through their accounts and finding out passwords are just a few of the several abilities that they demonstrated in the past. Should we feel secure in using our social media, knowing that someone has this ability?
