So explain to me the difference between this type of behavior and pure terrorism (or The Sopranos for that matter)

‘Hacktivists’ Pursue Campaign Against WikiLeaks Foes:

"Within 12 hours of a British judge’s decision to deny Mr. Assange bail in a Swedish extradition case, attacks on the Web sites of WikiLeaks’s “enemies,” as defined by the organization’s impassioned supporters around the world, caused several corporate Web sites to become inaccessible or slow down markedly on Wednesday."