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Cult of the Dead Cow

Short Description:

A politically conscious hacker group active since the mid-eighties, the CULT OF THE DEAD COW specializes in the development of freely distributed software enabling Internet users to route around censorship, filtering, and surveillance.

Related Theorists and Traditions:

Hakim bey
Situation(ist)

Related Groups and Practices:

Critical Arts Ensemble
Electrohippie collective
rtmark
Zapatistas
Culture jamming
Detournement
Direct action
Protest
Psychogeographic
Subversion

Contact Information:

http://www.cultdeadcow.com/main.php3
The "team bio" page has information on the various group members of the cult of the dead cow.

Locus of Activity:

Cyberspace

Time of Activity:

1984 to Present

History:

cDc began as a loose affiliation of BBS systems operators in the mid-1980s that claims to have invented the term “hacktivism”. They renamed themselves the Cult of the Dead Cow (cDc) in 1986. cDc began to organize hacker conferences in the nineties and releasing hacker software. In 1998 the cDc released Back Orifice, targeting the Windows 98 operating system. In 1999 the cDc jointly issued a statement with other international hacking groups to disavow the practice of infowar. In 2001the cDc issued The Hacktivismo Declaration, announcing its opposition to state-imposed Internet censorship through the formation of a more politically-conscious offshoot group, Hacktivismo, dedicated to the creation of software enabling Internet users to avoid censorship and surveillance.

Self Description:

We are HACKERS and we are HACKTIVISTS. Our mandate is to keep the Internet free, healthy, and adventurous. We will not be bullied. HACKTIVISTS are not the ones who decided to shackle free speech and the open exchange of ideas.
We believe in the 19th Article of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights.
We believe in the dignity of all human beings.
And we believe in loud music and big parties.
Start reading. Start thinking. Start acting.

Modes of Social Change Advocated:

Construction of Alternatives

Favorite Theorists:

None cited

Who is the Enemy:

States attempting to control information flows across the Internet and the corporations working for them

Media Used:

Quite appropriately, the Internet.

Tactics:

The creation of freely distributed hacker software for Internet users organization of hacker conferences

Affiliations:

Other hacker groups such as 2600, the Chaos Computer Club, !Hispahack, L0pht Heavy Industries, Phrack, and Pulhas.

External Links:

CULT OF THE DEAD COW homepage
http://www.cultdeadcow.com/

"hacktivismo" by oxblood ruffian
http://hacktivismo.com/

Defcon, the yearly underground hacking event
http://www.defcon.org/