This book examines the theory, practice, history, and ethics of civil disobedience on the internet through a study of activist Distributed Denial of Service actions (DDOS).
This book examines the history, development, theory, and practice of distributed denial of service actions as a tactic of political activism. The internet is a vital arena of communication, self expression, and interpersonal organizing. When there is a message to convey, words to get out, people to organize, many will turn to the internet as a theater for that activity. As familiar and widely accepted activist tools-petitions, fundraisers, mass letter-writing, call-in campaigns and others-find equivalent practices in the online space, is there also room for the tactics of disruption and civil disobedience that are equally familiar from the realm of street marches, occupations, and sit-ins? Grounding the analysis historically, focusing on early deployments of activist DDOS as well as modern instances to trace its development over time, this book uses activist DDOS actions as the foundation of a larger analysis of the practice of disruptive civil disobedience on the internet.
About the Author
Molly Sauter is a PhD student in Communication Studies at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She holds a Master's in Science from MIT, USA, in Comparative Media Studies.
Industry Reviews
Questions about online protest tactics have never been more fraught-as the analog police militarize their response to legitimate dissent, so, too, have the Internet cops decided that any online protest is cyber-terrorism. Sauter's work places one of the most urgent political questions of the 21st century into much-needed context. * Cory Doctorow, EFF Fellow and co-editor of Boing Boing *
Do two wrongs ever make a right? Sauter deftly shows how the injustices of our asymmetrical media landscape motivate and in some ways justify illegal online attacks. How much collateral damage to the network, if any, is ethical when lives are at stake in the real world? And how does public perception of hackers both inhibit and enhance the effectiveness of their efforts? While there may be no easy answers, The Coming Swarm is a landmark contribution to a conversation that needs to be initiated right now. * Douglas Rushkoff, author, Present Shock and Program or Be Programmed *
While DDOS actions have only recently entered the public consciousness, they have a vibrant history in the realm of political activism. Drawing on disciplines from political philosophy to social movement theory, Molly Sauter illuminates the importance of DDOS actions to modern democratic discourse, and contextualizes them in the evolution of political activism as it has moved from the streets to their elusive online counterparts. * Jonathan Zittrain, Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources, Harvard Law Library and Faculty Co-Director, Berkman Center for Internet and Society *
The Internet has increasingly attracted passionate citizens who engage in disruptive acts of direct action to voice dissent. Erudite in its analysis and written with grace and style, The Coming Swarm is the definitive account on the DDoS campaign. Sauter's compact book covers vast ground to advance a compelling argument: the political use of DDoS merits recognition as civil disobedience. She deftly considers the tactic's history, the technological and cultural changes underwriting its contemporary manifestation, and the laws seeking to stamp out its existence. Theoretically informed and empirically rich her book is essential reading to understand the veritable explosion of online dissent today and why, given multiple threats, its future stands in peril. * Gabriella Coleman, Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at McGill University *
The Internet is changing the nature of civil disobedience. Molly Sauter's book is an interesting and important discussion of political denial-of-service attacks: what has come before, and what's likely to come in the future. * Bruce Schneier, Author of Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust that Society Needs to Thrive and Schneier on Security *
In The Coming Swarm, Molly Sauter provides deep historical and philosophical context to online "denial of service" attacks, examining the participants' motivations and their portrayals in the media, whether as terrorist, hacker, artist, or nuisance. * Clay Shirky, Associate Professor, NYU, author of Here Comes Everybody *
The Coming Swarm is a thought-provoking little bomb of a book that raises issues activists in 2014 can't afford to ignore: virtual space is overwhelmingly privatized and corporatized and our right to protest is being unfairly impinged upon and criminalized online, with potentially devastating consequences for democracy. -- Astra Taylor, author of The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age * Salon.com *
This book will set your mind thinking and help you challenge conventional thought. In a relatively slim volume it will take you through the history of DDoS and how it can have an impact before considering the role, style and methodology of DDoS-ing before ending up with defensive/responsive measures and the possible future of DDoS-ing. This is one of those great 'generalist' books that you could and should read even if you don't think you have a rebellious bone in your body. -- Darren Ingram * Darren Ingram Media *
The Coming Swarm is thoroughly thought-provoking and meticulously researched (as one might expect from a peer-reviewed publication under the Bloomsbury Academic imprint). It will be an important contribution as more enlightened public policy makers try to understand digital culture rather than just contain it. -- Sophia Stuart * PC Mag *
The scope of the publication is ambitious and the analysis trenchant ... This makes The Coming Swarm a valuable source for researchers, activists and even policymakers, and it should find specifically a home on the shelves of social movement and collective action scholars. -- Leonie Maria Tanczer, Queen's University Belfast * LSE Review of Books *
Sauter provides history and analysis of 'distributed denial of service' (DDoS) actions, a tactic used by groups such as Anonymous in which numerous computers overwhelm a server with activity so as to disrupt its functioning. The author does the important work of documenting campaigns by activist collectives (e.g., Electronic Disturbance Theater, Anonymous) and examining DDoS actions in context and in relation to historical events (e.g., US Civil Rights Movement, WTO protests), in so doing extending understanding of communication technologies, political speech, and activism ... Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. -- D. Shepherd, Boise State University * CHOICE *
