I think motivation varies from person to person. I might like to wake up and the first thing that I do in the morning is run, someone else might wake up and look at their work emails. In this situation I prioritize my physical health and the other person prioritizes their job. There is no right or wrong answer in this scenario but that goes to show that different people are moved by different things. 

After reading the articles on why people commit these crimes, how I would rank the motives from most to least sense is; multiple reasons, for money, revenge, entertainment, recognition, political, and boredom. I think multiple reasons make most sense because I don’t think anyone is just solely motivated by one thing. It’s like trying to cook with just one ingredient. Imagine trying to make pizza and only use flour, or baking a cake with only icing. 

Second most important motivation would be for the money. Human basic needs are food, water, air and shelter. Money buys three out of the four needs that keep us alive. Also people that live in or near the poverty line are statically at a higher chance to commit crimes. Living paycheck to paycheck brings about stress and after a while desperate times call for desperate measures. You see on the news that hackers are getting away with millions of dollars which would motivate me if I was desperate to start looking into that. 

Third would be for revenge. Back in high school my favorite sport to play was wrestling. We had a good team and the matches were fun. My head coach praised us when I was doing stuff right and told us what to improve, but the main reason I signed up for wrestling was for coach Smith back in middle school. Back in middle school we had days where we tried out different sports in gym class. The day our wrestling coach had me going against the guys who were already on the team. Needless to say I was getting thrown left and right. I got angry at the coach and angry at the people throwing me so from the start of high school I was determined to be on the team. I enjoyed the sport but the only reason I started was for revenge and I can see that can be true to hackers as well. I have seen angry ex-girlfriends get into their significant others’ accounts and send themselves money. I hear about ex-employees on the last day deleting files that are necessary to the job. People lose composure when filled with revenge and that may result in crime and acts of violence. 

 Next I would be for entertainment. Sigmund Freud once said, “people seek pleasure and avoid pain”. On Sunday’s I like to sit on my couch and watch football. My roommate likes to sit on the couch and read manga. If we had the opportunity we would be there all day because it is fun and entertaining. The same can be said about hackers. They might find a thrill exploiting vulnerabilities in systems or networks. It’s the old saying do what you love and love what you do. 

Next would be for recognition. We live in a society of instant gratification. When a person uploads a picture to instagram, people compliment or like it. When people post on Twitter or Tik Tok do or say things that get them attention. People are conditioned to look and strive for their five minutes of fame. Hackers are the same way. Some of them are harmless like hacking into a friend’s social media page as a joke for laughs. Others will hack sites and organizations to boast about the accomplishment and hopefully gain recognition among their peers. 

I am personally not a political person. I am aware of politics and where each side usually stands. I have friends and family that are very political but I just don’t understand hacktivism. I get that they are trying to make the world a better place in their own way but out of all the other motives this would be near the bottom. 

Finally hacking because of boredom. Out of all the other reasons that become a hacker, this has to make the least sense. I understand making money for you or your family. I understand getting back at someone who did you wrong. Hacking for entertainment and recognition makes sense but because someone is bored has to be the weakest of the bunch. When I am bored I find a way to entertain myself. So unless you hack for money, think hacking is fun but are bored at your current job or lifestyle then this makes no sense by itself.