The Early Years: Jeremy Hammond was born in a suburb of Chicago Illinois with his twin brother. He became interested in computers at a young age, programming video games by 8 years old. While in highschool he organized a student walkout on the day of the Iraq invasion and started a school newspaper to oppose the Iraq War. He also founded the computer security training website HackThisSite at age 18, during its first two years the site received 2.5 million hits and acquired 110,000 members and a volunteer staff of 34. Teachers often described him has being old beyond his years. Hammond went to the University of Illinois at Chicago and in his freshmen year, he exploited a security flaw on the computer science department website and offered to help fix the flaws in the hopes of getting a job. Instead he was banned from returning to finish his sophomore year for the backdoor he installed after which he worked has a Mac tech and a web developer. It wasn't always about computers and tech for Jeremy. He had a lifelong interest in music and performed in multiple bands. He and his brother Jason had a ska band named Dirty Surgeon Insurgency up until his arrest.

Hacktivist or Criminal: During a 2004 DEF CON convention in Las Vegas, Hammond encouraged "electronic civil disobedience" as a way to protest the 2004 Republican National Convention. Roughly a year later, Hammond along with others hacked the website of pro-war counter protesting group Protest Warrior and accessed thousands of credit card numbers, intending to use them to donate to left-wing groups. He later confessed to the hack and even though none of the cards were ever used he received a 2 year sentence. He was released after 18 months, however this is when most believe this is when radicalized by his experiences. On March 5, 2012, Hammond was arrested by FBI agents in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago for his involvement in the December 2011 cyberattack on Stratfor, a private intelligence firm. The intrusion compromised 60,000 credit card numbers, $700,000 in fraudulent charges, and involved the download of 5 million emails, some of which were subsequently published by WikiLeaks. The indictment was unsealed the following day in the Manhattan federal district court. He was one of six individuals from the United States, England and Ireland indicted. In May 2013, Hammond pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Upon his guilty plea, Hammond issued a statement saying, "I did work with Anonymous to hack Stratfor, among other websites" and "I did what I believe is right". He maintained that he had no profit motive for the cyberattack. He described his prosecution and sentence as a "vengeful, spiteful act. In October 2019, Hammond was summoned before a Virginia federal grand jury which was investigating WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange. He was held in civil contempt of court after refusing to testify, Hammond said he was ideologically opposed to any grand jury probe which was not being conducted in "good faith" as the government already had the information it needed. e frequently identifies as an anarchist and has a shoulder tattoo of the anarchy symbol with the words: "Freedom, equality, anarchy". Writing after his arrest, Hammond said, "I have always made it clear that I am an anarchist-communist – as in I believe we need to abolish capitalism and the state in its entirety to realize a free, egalitarian society. I'm not into watering down or selling out the message or making it more marketable for the masses.

Why Jeremy: I know that after the list of criminal charges Jeremy doesn't seem like the kind of person that one should admire, but it's not what he has done, its what he is doing now. Jeremy Hammond is an infosec consultant, forensic investigator, and trainer with over 20 years of experience in the industry. They maintain the Hackers-Arise training site and provide training to US military personnel, Department of Defense contractors, and federal employees in information security and hacking1. Their work spans various professions where hackers are in high demand, including cyber intelligence, pentesting, bug bounty, and cyber warfare. Jeremy also offers historical perspectives on hacking and the legal framework surrounding it2. In addition, Jeremy Hammond has authored several books under the pseudonym OCCUPYTHEWEB, including:

• Linux Basics for Hackers: Getting Started with Networking, Scripting, and Security in Kali.
• Getting Started Becoming a Hacker

Jeremy Hammond also was a college professor and on many occasions, such has when the UK’s Sputnik News wanted a hacker’s opinion of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony to the US Congress regarding Cambridge Analytica’s data theft, They called OTW. His primary message was “If the service is free, you are the product”. If you want to read and listen to the interview follow the here. He made headlines around the world when he exposed a major SCADA vulnerability in Schneider Electric systems. He educates through his website teaching new cybersecurity enthusiast through his website hackers-arise.com.

My opinion: In a world where it seems people are so quick to change there beliefs and convictions at the drop of a dime, Jeremy Hammond stuck to who he is and what he believed in through it all and in the end the same people that sought his incarceration are now asking for the expertise that cost him 10yrs of his life. His work during the Ukrainian War has helped many. Because of individuals like Jeremy and others who under fear of arrest and imprisonment have changed the stereotype of what a hacker is and turned a criminal act into a well paying job for those that wish to use there skills for good.