본 연구는 민족주의 성향의 미국, 중국, 이스라엘, 아랍계 해커집단에 의해서 변조된 홈페이지의 특징을 비교 분석함으로써 해커들이 자신의 메시지를 사이버 공간에서 전달할 때 어떠한 수단을 사용하고, 어떠한 메시지를 남겨놓으며 남겨진 메시지들이 어떤 선전기법에 의해서 분류될 수 있는지 살펴보는 탐색적 연구이다. 네 종류의 해커집단에 의해서 변조된 418개 홈페이지를 내용분석 하였다. 연구결과, 민족주의 성향의 해커집단들이 홈페이지를 변조할 때, 글, 그림, 이메일과 같은 전통적인 수단을 많이 사용하여 자신의 메시지를 전달하는 경향을 보였으며, 시각적인 내용(시체, 부상자, 국기, 로고)과 언어적인 내용(욕설, 비방, 슬로건, 통계)을 통해서 메시지에 노출된 수용자들을 자극하고 설득하려는 의도를 보였다. 또한 일곱 가지 선전기법(propaganda devices)에 근거하여 네 해커집단에서 표방하는 메시지를 분류한 결과, 매도하기(name-calling)가 가장 많이 사용되어진 것으로 나타났다. 웹 도구 사용, 메시지 내용, 선전기법 선호도에 있어서 네 해커집단 간에 특징 있는 차이가 나타났다.

The purpose of this study is to explore the content of ethnocentric-motivated homepage defacement in terms of a variety of propaganda techniques. This study was limited to the web pages altered by hackers from U.S., China, Israel, and Arab. The current study content analyzed 418 defaced web sites in order to describe how they were changed. Particularly, this study focused more on what web tools were used, what emotional content was chosen, and what propaganda techniques were applied to disseminate hackers' messages in more effective ways. The findings suggest that ethnocentric-motivated hackers preferred graphic, text, and e-mail to spread their messages. They frequently used visual content(gruesome photos, national flags, and logos) and verbal content(profane languages, verbal insults, slogans, and statistics) against opponents. The most popular propaganda technique used by ethnocentric-motivated hacker groups was name-calling. The usage of web tools, emotional content, and propaganda techniques was different among pro-Israel, pro-Arab, pro-China and pro-U.S. hacker groups.

The purpose of this study is to explore the content of ethnocentric-motivated homepage defacement in terms of a variety of propaganda techniques. This study was limited to the web pages altered by hackers from U.S., China, Israel, and Arab. The current study content analyzed 418 defaced web sites in order to describe how they were changed. Particularly, this study focused more on what web tools were used, what emotional content was chosen, and what propaganda techniques were applied to disseminate hackers' messages in more effective ways. The findings suggest that ethnocentric-motivated hackers preferred graphic, text, and e-mail to spread their messages. They frequently used visual content(gruesome photos, national flags, and logos) and verbal content(profane languages, verbal insults, slogans, and statistics) against opponents. The most popular propaganda technique used by ethnocentric-motivated hacker groups was name-calling. The usage of web tools, emotional content, and propaganda techniques was different among pro-Israel, pro-Arab, pro-China and pro-U.S. hacker groups.

Homepage defacement, Hacker, Propaganda