Digilantes, or vigilantes of the digital world, are the hyper-skilled people who take it upon themselves to protect the citizens of the web from the wrongdoers attempting money scams, extortion, illegal trading, revenge pornography, child pornography, etc. These heroes are not official but are reputable. They have found a place in the world of popular media while still remaining underground.
The impetus for the passion of catching bad guys after a regular 9-to-5 career, reportedly comes from the feeling of "who else, if not me?" In one Fusion article, many interviewees cited the "inept" aspect of the police force, which we can all attest to in one way or another whether in true-life stories, Lifetime movies, or other entertainment. It's the story of ordinary people taking on what others cannot.
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Of course the digilante group you are probably most familiar with is the often criticized ANONYMOUS. Whenever global events occur, ANONYMOUS usually has a comment — or action. Last year, most notably they shut down a large number of Islamic State social media accounts.
Recently, another digilante group made a documentary with Fusion and attempted trailing the mysterious site Mugshots.com who anonymously posts the mugshots of people from all over and uses them as ransom for "hundreds and even thousands of dollars," from these unsuspecting victims of cyber crime.
You may be asking how is this possible, but the internet is its own universe — dark and vast and you are a mere blip on the radar of it all. Most spend their time on news sites, social media or gaming, but this is not the entirety of the internet and is a small portion of the controversial issue of net neutrality.
Whether this information comforts you or not, the digilante groups are a fascinating aspect of the unchartered world wide web.
