Hacking

In two recent examples of conflict online—the Internet's response to Iran's rigged election, and 4chan's reaction to AT&T's perceived censorship—distributed denial of service attacks have been wielded (or threatened) as a powerful and disruptive, nonviolent tool for change. The relative ease with which one can coordinate and participate in such an attack means this tactic can be employed by individuals or small groups, not just militaries and large corporations. But what are the ramifications of empowering individuals to take down government sites?