America, you’re funny- Hackers, Anonymous

So we have this group of hackers: basically kids and middle age men who go to Comic Con and who are clearly great at using computers. What do they use their efforts on? Annoying governments and large corporations. They try to sound tough but really they are pests and no one takes them seriously. They have this capability, and yet, they do nothing useful with it when there is so much they can do.

So why not provide them with a list of things to do, I know they might not follow it but if there are others like them, at least they will try.

1) Instead of attacking legitimate democratic governments that they have gripes with, attack dictatorships and authoritarian governments like Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Tazhikistan, China. It’s those places where people are truly not free. So delete Chinese records on disidends, break firewalls so Chinese can see the outside world, release names of jailed Tazhiks and Turkmens. There are a million things you could that are better than posting a smiley face on a US Government site.

2) Instead of complaining about American incursions, prevent them by going after those that America is fighting such as Al Quida, Al Shabab and etc. These are the guys who blow up children, create oppressive Islamist states that ban information and even music. If they don’t exist, US has no reason to fight them and their websites are their life-lines and recruitment tools. So spread misinformation, destroy their ability to communicate and show not their triumphs but cowardice by posting pictures of the children they kill on their sites. That would do so much more than messing with Coca-Cola.

3) If you don’t like corruption, show it. Find the information that shows what a company or government does. You say you are world class hackers? Then show tax evasion, send it to journalists break the information prison. You can do it, so why don’t you? 

So here are just three ways that you can become relevant. Otherwise you’re just taking cheap shots at people that really don’t care. Doing so shows that you are uninformed, bitter and most of all, lazy.

So go ahead, do some good! Expose despots, free prisoners, help people! You can do it, we know it, so why not start ?  And then, people will actually take you seriously.