Definition: An example of hacktivism is a denial of service attack (DoS) which shuts down a system to prevent customer access. Other examples involve providing citizens with access to government-censored web pages or providing privacy-protected means of communication to threatened groups (such as Syrians during the Arab Spring).

Real-life Example of Hacktivism:

• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks: Attacks which bring down websites or otherwise disrupt Internet activity by systematically sending so many requests to a server that it cannot handle the traffic and is rendered temporarily useless. Common examples include email bombing and web sit-ins.
• Website Defacements: Attacks which change the content of websites, usually for the purpose of spreading a political message.
• Internet Worms: Programs designed to spread themselves within a network, either for the purpose of disrupting activity or spreading a message