The following are possible motivations for cyber offenders. I have ranked them 1 through 7, 1 being the most sensible and 7 being the least sensible. Of course, trying to find sense in an offender’s reasoning can be a nebulous task. So, for this exercise, “what makes sense” is defined by what stands to provide the offender with the most personal gain.

1. Political

2. Recognition

3. Money

4. Entertainment

5. Multiple reasons

6. Revenge

7. Boredom

Politics define life in society as we know it currently. The subtle touches of governance may be ignored if you choose, but policies set forth by our elected officials affect all of us even if we choose not to pay attention. Such power and influence can evoke strong emotions and even action from those of us that are watching what our government does. The actions taken by cyber offenders, in the case of the United States, can go directly against the wishes of millions of Americans which clearly illustrates the immediate power a successful cyber offender may exercise and is my reasoning for placing it as the most sensible motivator for cyber offense.

Recognition once had is a powerful motivator. It bolsters the sense of accomplishment one feels after completing a task and may result in the drive to continue pursuing that sensation. I place this as second on the list because with recognition comes community building. Like-minded communities can form social movements and influence change. Without politics however, that change may not last which enforces my reasoning for placing recognition after politics as a motivator for cyber offenders.

Money. We say, hear or see the word and all of us experience a different invoked feeling. For that reason, I am keeping its invocation to the confines of the previous two motivators. Money goes a far way in politics and can provide the same feeling of achievement that recognition provides, but it is material and not as potent a motivator for that reason. The act of committing cyber offense is risky and the more times it is carried out, the higher the risk of being caught. Money is not a large enough motivating factor to someone who has the knowledge to carry out a cyber offense, so I placed it third.

Entertainment is everywhere and we consume it in the form of art and literature daily. However, these are more standard forms of entertainment. Cyber offenders may find entertainment observing the results of their activities. In the context where politics is the number one motivating factor, entertainment could come in the form of seeing your political opponents polling places hacked, or their campaign websites tampered with. As gratifying as that sounds, though, the risk may be too large to just seek entertainment and so, I have placed it fourth.

Multiple reasons is the all-encompassing motivator. Cyber offense may be carried out to escape socio-economic conditions. The pursuit of a challenge or any of the prior four motivators could fall into this category as well. It is not focused enough in this example and that is why I place it fifth.

Revenge is fifth because of its narrow scope and temporary nature. The victim of revenge would probably place it at the top of this list as a motivator, but it does not make more sense that the other motivator when politics is number one.

Lastly, boredom. I’ve placed this last because the risk is so high when politics is your number one motivator that boredom does not seem like such a good motivator. Outside of the framework outline above, I would place boredom up there with entertainment, as boredom is just a lack thereof.