1. Multiple Reasons:
People are typically motivated by a variety of factors and it is often challenging pin pointing a single motivating factor. Having more than one reason to do something can be a strong motivating factor, especially when those reasons provide a cyber criminal with a sense of purpose or meets their desires.
2. Political:
Political motivators are powerful mainly because political views and beliefs usually are a direct reflection of personal beliefs and values. They can address things people believe are right or wrong. People who are motivated by political means can often feel that participating in certain cybercrimes, is for the greater good and believe they are doing justice.
3. Money:
This was a hard one to place. Money holds different values for different people. Someone who is struggling financially may be more enticed by this motivator than someone wealthy. On the other hands, some people allow money to define their self worth and success, no matter how much they have. Nonetheless, financial gain still remains as a strong motivator but sometimes is not enough to drive someone into illegal activity.
4. Recognition:
People sometime value recognition and validation from others. They can be motivated by the desire to be recognized by their skills, accomplishments, or contributions.
5. Revenge:
People who are motivated by revenge feel as though they are righting a wrong, some may go to extreme lengths to do this. However, revenge is often driven by negative emotions which alone may stop someone from acting on it versus them being motivated for something positive, like a political change or financial gain.
6. Entertainment:
I placed entertainment towards the bottom of the list because while it may be fun and enjoyable, entertainment lessens boredom, but it is often not enough for someone to commit to a crime. Entertainment also lacks a sense of purpose.
7. Boredom:
Boredom is last in my ranking because I find it to be an extremely weak motivator for a few reasons. People become bored when they are not stimulated or engaged. Cybercrimes often require complex skills and can be often challenging. Cybercrime also come with the legal risk and people who are simply bored may not want to take that risk for the simple fact of being bored.