Chaos Computer Club (Germany based hackers organization) Add a review

The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) is Europe's largest association of hackers, with about 8,000 registered members, after reporting 7,700 registered members in its 2018 annual general assembly minutes. Founded in 1981, the association is incorporated as an eingetragener Verein in Germany, with local chapters, called Erfa-Kreise, in various cities in Germany and neighbouring countries, particularly where there are German-speaking communities. Since 1985, some chapters in Switzerland have organized an independent sister association, the Chaos Computer Club Schweiz (CCC-CH).

The CCC describes itself as "a galactic community of life forms, independent of age, sex, race or societal orientation, which strives across borders for freedom of information…". The association advocates transparency in government, freedom of information, privacy, and the human right to communication. It is associated with the hacker ethic and with campaigns concerning digital civil rights, surveillance, data security, anonymizing services, and communications infrastructure. Dominique Boullier discusses the CCC as part of a broader hacker culture that combines demands for freedom of expression and freedom to code with libertarian and countercultural traditions. It has been characterised as "…one of the most influential digital organisations anywhere, the centre of German digital culture, hacker culture, hacktivism, and the intersection of any discussion of democratic and digital rights".

Members of the CCC have demonstrated and publicized a number of important information security problems. The CCC frequently criticizes legislation, surveillance measures, and products with weak information security that it considers threats to civil liberties or user privacy.