Definition: hacktivist

(HACKer acTIVIST) A person who demonstrates against a company or government agency by malicious technological means. Examples are causing a website to fail or slow down, or breaking into a computer system to obtain unauthorized information. In 2011, after MasterCard, Visa and PayPal cut off service to Wikileaks, hacktivists set up denial-of-service attacks against their websites. Hacktivists promote free availability of information on the Internet and may protest when actions inhibit this freedom. See hacker, Silk Road and denial-of-service attack.