Top Motives for Hacking

The motive that makes the most sense is money this is because anyone can benefit from money as it is the sole entity at which this world revolves around. Money can ensure your stability in the world by allowing you to purchase shelter, food, and other necessities. The amount that hackers can obtain via ransomware is sure to entice criminal syndicates. The second most sensible motive is political. Countries are often in conflict and it is certain that a digital warfare is on the rise. State actors often get paid a large sum in order to compromise another nations security, “it might be for political campaigns, military, or infrastructural sectors.”(CSIS). Not only does that benefit the threat actor but also benefits the governing body trying to wreck havoc. The third most sensible motive is multiple reasons. It is uncertain that any cause to hacking is one reason but a multitude of reasons that work to provoke the actions of a hacker. “These reasons could be financial or social.”(Zurkus). The fourth most sensible motive is recognition. Some people are fascinated with fame of being on the news and that could cause them to hack. The fifth most sensible motive is revenge, revenge is a phycological motivator that causes impulsive behaviors which leads to serious cyber crimes. The following motives: curiosity, boredom, and entertainment, were not as sensible as they had no clear reason to commit the cyber crime. In the case of entertainment the hacker simply stated, “he was doing it for fun.”(Lovejoy, 2021). I find that these were not justifiable reasons for committing cyber crime considering the consequences.

Sources:

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/

Significant cyber incidents: Strategic technologies program. CSIS. (n.d.). https://www.csis.org/programs/strategic-technologies-program/significant-cyber-incidents

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