Review the articles linked with each individual motive. Rank the
motives from 1 to 7 as the motives that you think make the most sense
(being 1) to the least sense (being 7). Explain why you rank each
motive the way you rank it.

After review, the motive that makes the most sense to me is for money. While why one desires the monetary gain my differ, I believe the emphasis on obtaining money in today’s society remains the same. I rate this motive a 1.  

Another motive I rate a 1 is revenge. The criminal justice system can vouch for revenge, being a crime of passion which overrun our court systems. The internet is not an emotionless place, feelings get hurt and people want what they feel in the moment(s) is justice or restitution for those hurt feelings.  

The motive I rate a 2 is political. Politics has been a dirty smear game for as long as I have been old enough to semi understand politics. If your official records were squeaky clean you could hold office. The internet just gives those people another platform to utilize. 

The motive I rate 3 is recognition. I associate this with any other competitive anything we do as human beings. The internet and being able to manipulate everything inside of it became a sport. Who could out code who, much like the cyber world still is today. If there is a lock, there is someone who is going to try and pick it.  

The motive I rate 4 is boredom. The rate at which the world operates makes it almost impossible for my attention span to keep up with. How could I expect anyone else, particularly the younger generation, to understand the value of what they direct their attentions to in life? Anything they do online, any information, or patterns they are creating are being sold to the highest bidder no matter the content. I don’t think most people, even my age, comprehend how much information is out there and how much we ourselves create daily.  

The motive I rate 5 is entertainment. People need hobbies. There is also a very thin ethical line when it comes to what is accessible on the internet. I see where some may get into hacking as a hobby and the entertainment is pushing those boundaries but there is real data out there that people are using as a toy to play with.  

I think overall, what motivates a human to engage in criminal activity, cyber or in real life, can be assumed until it can be proved. I can the reasoning behind all of these but for each one I can also see where they hit a point that I begin to question when it becomes malicious.