Debating the Motivating Factors for Hackers There is no shortage to the potential motivators of hackers; however, motives can be distinguished by the various roles that hackers assume. In the reading to follow, this researcher will present an assessment of Sarah Gordon’s interview regarding various perspectives pertaining to psychological differences between cybercriminals and traditional real world criminals. Additionally, a comparison of hackers versus virus writers and the various roles of hackers will be discussed. Lu, Polgar, Luo, & Cao (2010) hypothesized that computer security is not as much about the aspect of technology, instead it is more concerned with the mental and social science activities of the individuals who utilize computer technology. The authors supported this point of view by stating that computers only channel the transgressions of the individuals who exploit them. Xu, Hu, & Zhang (2013) attributed the upsurge of hackers to the popularity of the internet and the prevalence computer systems. The authors maintained that a notable portion of the hacking community is intelligent college-age individuals who begin hacking out of curiosity and end up exploiting their talents to commit cybercrime (Xu et al., 2013) Originally, hacking did not have a negative connotation. Deriving around the late 1950s, the expression hacker referred to an exceptionally adept programmer and convergent thinker that could formulate innovative solutions to overcome constraints of primitive computer systems (Bachmann, 2010; Lu et al., 2010). The Role and Motivation of a Hacker The motivation and intention of hackers is what distinguishes white hats, black hats and gray hats from each other. Xu et al. (2013) explained that white ... ... middle of paper ... ...rnal of Cyber Criminology, 4(1), 643-656. Gordon, S. (2008). Studying the psychology of virus writers and hackers: An interview with Sarah Gordon. PBS:Frontline. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/hackers/whoare/psycho.html Holt, T. J., Strumsky, D., Smirnova, O., & Kilger, M. (2012). Examining the social networks of malware writers and hackers. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 6(1), 891-903. Lu, Y., Polgar, M., Luo, X., & Cao, Y. Y. (2010). Social network analysis of a criminal hacker community. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 51(2), 31-41. Turgeman-Goldschmidt, O. (2008). Meanings that hackers assign to their being a hacker. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 2(2), 382-396. Xu, Z., Hu, Q., & Zhang, C. (2013). Why computer talents become computer hackers. Communications of the ACM, 56(4), 64-74. doi:10.1145/2436256.2436272
Taylor, R. W., Fritsch, E. J., Liederbach, J., & Holt, T. J. (2011). Digital Crime and Digital Terrorism 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
In reality, most hackers are ordinary people with a great deal of curiosity, above-average skills with a computer, a good understanding of human nature, and plenty of time to kill. Hackers have no distinguishing characteristics. Your next-door neighbor could be a hacker, as could your niece or nephew, one of your co-workers, or even the kid who serves you coffee in the morning. Not all hackers are dangerous and out to destroy business or damage lives. The view of the general public toward hackers is mixed. A recent CNN-poll shows 33% of respondents labeling hackers as "useful," 17% seeing them "as a menace," and the majority (45%) seeing hackers as "both" useful and a menace (CNN, 1999).
In this book Sterling discusses three cyberspace subcultures known as the hacker underworld, the realm of the cyber cops, and the idealistic culture for the cyber civil libertarians. At the beginning of the story Sterling starts out with discussing the birth of cyberspace and how it came about. The Hacker Crackdown informs the readers of the issues surrounding computer crime and the people on all sides of those problems. Sterling gives a brief summary of what cyberspace meant back then and how it impacted society, and he investigates the past, present and future of computer crimes. For instance he explains how the invention of the telephone led to a world that people were scared of because the telephone was something that was able to let people talk to one another without actually being in the same area. People thought that it was so strange and so different because they didn’t understand all of the information behind it. Back then people thought of the telephone as a tool that allowed others to talk to them in a way that was so personal yet impersonal. Sterling then goes on to explain how “phone phreaks” played such an important part in relating the telephones to computer crimes and how they were so closely related back then.
”Attacks implemented by cyber terrorists via information systems to (1) significantly interfere with the political, social or economic functioning of a critically important group or organization of a nation, or (2) induce physical violence and/or create panic. We define hackers as individuals who (1) wish to access/modify data, files, and resources without having the necessary authorization to do so, and/or (2) wish to block services to authorized users. Cyber terrorists are individuals or groups who utilize computing and networking technologies to terrorize. In this paper, we study the behaviors of two groups of hackers: cyber terrorists and common hackers" (Hua & Bapna 2013).
ZHENGCHUAN, XU, HU QING, and ZHANG CHENGHONG. "Why Computer Talents Become Computer Hackers." Communications Of The ACM 56.4 (2013): 64-74. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Modern scholars have in the recent decades engaged in the controversial debate on the actual classification of the group Anonymous. Some scholars classify the group as trolls while other associates it with hackers groups. As defined, hackers are individuals or groups that search and exploit the computer system weakness (Messmer 65). In most instances, hackers engage in discouraging and unappealing activities for multiple reasons including challenging the existing systems, protesting against the prevailing rules and regulations, and for profit making. On the other hand, trolls are groups of individuals who engage in the process of sowing discord on the internet through instigating arguments that aim at upsetting community members and leaders (Keith 11). Trolls are also popular for posting off-topic, extraneous, and inflammatory information on the internet. Although hackers and trolls are the main actors in the current threatening cyber crimes, the two groups have varying reasons for abusing the existing technology. Moreover, despite the existence of detailed and intensive strategies to address the two groups of crime, the actors have been outshining the global policy implementers and formulators in numerous occasions (Messmer 65). However, based on the available evidence, the Anonymous group is more of a hacker group than a troll group.
The documentary Rise of the Hackers, focuses on the rising criminal use of hacking and how it is effecting multiple areas of technology. The documentary describes simple and complicated situations concerning hacking, but there still questions that must be answered when it comes to hacking and crime. The main question is in trying to determine why a person would choose to commit computer hacking. There are various theories already present within the criminal justice system that may explain at a micro-level and macro-level. These theories would explain why offenders would commit the crimes, but it may not answer the full scope of the question. The Routine Activities Theory would help to explain why offenders offend, why victims are victimized,
The use of hacking to identify weaknesses in computer security has become an increasingly controversial issue in recent years. Awareness of this issue is important, because our ever increasing reliance on technology means that breaches in computer security have the potential to have wide-ranging and devastating consequences to society, worldwide. This essay will begin by clearly defining the term ‘hacking’ and will examine the type of people who hack and for what reasons. There will then follow a discussion of the moral argument on hacking before examining a few brief examples. The essay will then conclude by arguing against the use of hacking as a means of identifying weaknesses in computer security.
The Ted Talk presented by Catherine Bracy took the word hacking to another level. A new way of looking at a hacker. A hacker meaning much more than a teen behind a computer trying to steal information. The points she brought out is that reaching out to the people can get things done and strengthen relationships between people and an organization and through that relationship both parties are more stable and content. Bracy expressed her experiences with hackers in a government and citizen view, but this can also be applied to personal and
Hacking has been around since the birth of computers. When the term hacking was first used, its meaning was not that of how we think of it today. At the origins of computing, a hacker was considered to be just a "creative programmer (Baase, 2003)." Early forms of computer games as well as the beginnings of operating systems were discovered and created by these original hackers. These hackers plunged into systems as a way of an intellectual challenge and to aspire to gain knowledge (Baase, 2003). Kevin Mitnick believes he falls into this realm of hackers. Hackers in today's era are now looked upon as criminals who invade the privacy rights of individuals and have the ability to deliver worms/viruses. The differences are that hackers today have full intentions of delivering terrible viruses and worms. Mitnick was one of the most infamous hackers during the 1980's. He molded his hacking style around the stupidity of humans and his quest for intellectual knowledge. The ways in which he wiggled his way into computer systems extenuates many of the issues surrounding computer security and privacy.
The term “hacker” has been in use since the early 1980’s due to mass media usage to describe computer criminals. The use of this term is vastly used by the general population and most are not aware that there are different meanings to the word. People within the computing community especially within the programming subculture emphasize the use of the term “crackers” for computer security intruders (cyber criminals). Early hackers rarely used their skills for financial gain as a motivation for their criminal behavior in that time cybercrime was infantile and largely seen as a practical joke or game by those who committed it. Bob Thomas created the first credited computer worm n...
Harvey, Brian. A. Computer Hacking and Ethics. Ed. Paul Goodman, P.G., a.k.a. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Taylor, R.W., Caeti, T.J., Loper, D.K., Fritsch, E.J. & Liederbach, J., 2006, Digital Crime and Digital Terrorism, 1st Edition, New York: Pearson Education, Inc.
To be able to understand cybercrimes we need to know where it started. It all started with the birth of the internet. In the late 1960s, one of the authors (HMD) was a graduate student at MIT. His research at MIT’s project MAC (now the Laboratory for computer – the home of the World Wide Web Consortium) was funded by APRA – the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense. Later on APRA proceeded to implement the APRANET, which even...
The advantages of technology and the internet have led more criminals to use cyberspace to commit crimes. The threat of cybercrime is increasing as globalization continues to spread across the world. While the impact of globalization has led to amazing, new discoveries throughout the world, Internet connectivity has also made cybercrime easier. America and the rest of the world have become more reliant on technology and use it in more aspects of their lives, technology-users make themselves more vulnerable to cyber attacks. Globalization and the growing use of computers in the world have given people a motive to learn more about computing and become more knowledgeable as programmers. As these people learn more, there is a risk that they will use their new intelligence to commit cybercrimes.