Whilst last week’s topic was related to illegal activities online such as hacking, this week we discussed botnets and cyberwar. I found this weeks materials really helped me with the understanding of the topic, especially Arthur’s 2013 online article ‘LulzSec: what they did, who they were and how they were caught’. Within this, there is discussion regarding Fox.com, who was targeted by a new hacking group which had been formed in private online chatrooms of the hacking collective Anonymous. This is really helpful in understanding what Botnets are. They are networks of hijacked computer devices used to carry out various scams and cyberattacks. As you can see, this doesn’t just happen in high-profile cases, people are hacked everyday, which is why this is such a relevant topic in terms of increasing awareness of technology.
