Jermiah Robinson
February 14th, 2024
CYSE 201S – Cybersecurity
Cybercrime Motives
Cybercrime is committed out there on the internet for several reasons. While the consensus is that hackers and other cyber criminals just do it only for a profit, but there are other reasons why cybercrimes occur. From entertainment to political stunts, or even out of just boredom and wanting to do something. This is a list out of the main reasons and motives of why cybercrimes happen.
Money is an important aspect of life, especially for cybercriminals who need a profit for their operations, however, this is only a part of the money. As one of the top reasons why cybercrimes are committed, most cybercriminals use this money for investments and funding unhealthy habits, while the rest of it goes into bills, food, and status with other groups and potentially a romantic interest. (Carole)
While money is useful for cybercriminals, some will make a political point for a country. For example, the attacks that the US faces from hackers originating in Russia and China. These hackers either do it for the people of the country or just for the state and could even be employed by the state. (Reuters)
Another motive that comes from cybercrimes can do with revenge. From extortion even to revenge images that the victim had sent to the criminal. Cybercriminals can do this by posing as either a match for the victim or a celebrity and request that the victim send pictures of themselves nude. This leads to extortion and the leakage of the images online, which can cause great damage psychologically to the victim. (Baker)
As another motive, cybercriminals commit these crimes due to several factors. These can range from psychological factors to socioeconomic factors. From the feeling of being in power and having ego, to needing that short burst of money to keep up makes them engage in this behavior. (Kacy)
Cybercriminals do what they do also out of boredom from a victim, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children may create profiles on Facebook and other social media, and with a picture of them uploaded instead, could attract predators and groomers online to try and get to the child. (Sonjica)
Cybercrimes can be entertainment instead for cybercriminals, like with the case with Tom Liner and his data scalping with LinkedIn. Tom Liner was able to gather seven hundred million accounts from LinkedIn just for fun and was able to make a profit off it by selling the information for about $5000. (Lovejoy)
Lastly, cybercrimes can also stem from just trying to get recognition or attention. For example, Bradley Niblock attempted to do this for his social media account UGLegion on twitter. To gain likes, Bradley Niblock DDoS’d a labor party candidate’s website in the UK. Police tracked him down and noticed the accounts linked with him. This caused the UGLegion account a permanent suspension. (Corfield)
In conclusion, cybercriminals have several motives when it comes to committing cybercrimes even for simple reasons. It is important to note however that online safety is important in preventing most of these motives from making another victim. Exercising practice of strong passwords and keeping information safe is key to not be another number in cybercrimes.
Works Cited
Baker, L. (2019, July 11). Revenge porn victims in Wales often feel “let down by the law” as cybercrime slips through the net. News from Wales. https://newsfromwales.co.uk/revenge-porn-victims-in-wales-often-feel-let-down-by-the-law-as-cybercrime-slips-through-the-net/
Carole, J. (2021, April 8). How cybercriminals spend their money (infographic). HP Wolf Security. https://threatresearch.ext.hp.com/sex-drugs-and-toilet-rolls-how-cybercriminals-spend-their-money-infographic/
Corfield, G. (2021, June 30). 8-month suspended sentence for script kiddie who ddos’d labour candidate in runup to 2019 UK general election. The Register® – Biting the hand that feeds IT. https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/30/bradley_niblock_election_ddos/
Lovejoy, B. (2021, July 19). Man behind linkedin scraping said he grabbed 700m profiles “for fun.” 9to5Mac. https://9to5mac.com/2021/07/19/man-behind-linkedin-scraping/
New generation of angry & youthful hackers join the “hacktivism” wave, adding to cyber-security woes. The Economic Times. (2021, March 26). https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/new-generation-of-angry-youthful-hackers-join-the-hacktivism-wave-adding-to-cyber-security-woes/articleshow/81707844.cms
Sonjica, N. (2021, May 31). Cyberbullying and online sexual grooming of children “on the increase.” HeraldLIVE. https://www.heraldlive.co.za/news/2021-05-31-cyberbullying-and-online-sexual-grooming-of-children-on-the-increase/
Zurkus, K. (2018, August 15). What drives hackers to a life of cybercrime?. Infosecurity Magazine. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/what-drives-hackers-to-a-life-of/?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_c1d89a4695edbd23f2bceb54d70f35ce5e536e86-1626721164-0-gqNtZGzNAfijcnBszQi6