With the recent suicide of Aaron Swartz and the Anonymous petition to consider DDOS as a valid form of protest, many are now inspired to think about what constitutes cyber crime. What is the difference between a DDOS attack on a website to deny access for a protest reason, and that of a nonviolent sit on the steps of a company - or a union strike for that matter? ProPublica takes a very in-depth look at this.

Most of these acts, including Swartz’s downloads, are criminalized under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), an act was designed to prosecute hackers. But as Swartz’s and other “hacktivist” cases demonstrate, you don’t necessarily have to be a hacker to be viewed as one under federal law. Are activists like Swartz committing civil disobedience, or online crimes? We break down a few strategies of “hacktivism” to see what is considered criminal under the CFAA.

 Hacktivism: Civil Disobedience or Cyber Crime?