Introduction

With the rise of internet consumption and the increase in digital device usage, hacking has become a norm, with many individuals and organizations rendered victims of hacking. By definition, hacking refers to identifying a weakness in a computer system or network and exploiting these weaknesses to gain unauthorized access to organizational or personal data. Interestingly, hacking is not always malicious as it is perceived, but it has negative connotations for some reason, thanks to its association with cybercrime (Maimon & Louderback, 2019). However, hacking cannot occur if these two aspects are absent, a motive within the hacker and, secondly, a system weakness or vulnerability on the side of the victims. While hacking has been a common trend in the recent past, understanding the motive of the attacker and building robust systems on the side of the potential victim is an effective way hacking can be done away with.

Discussion

Reflecting on a series of literature that has delved into the topic of hacking, two underlying themes arise the motivation of hackers to hack and, secondly, the hacked victims’ characteristics.

Motivations for hacking

Although there exist a series of laws and regulations that outlaws unethical hacking and access to personal and organizational information, the practice continues to remain widespread, thus begging the question of what actually motivates the hackers to hack. According to Young et al. (2007), evaluating the minds of the hackers, most of them participate in hacking as a way to gain prestige and swim in the wave of glamorization (Young et al., 2007). Since the inception of hacking, society has treated hackers as unique and intelligent people who require special recognition despite the practice being unethical in some situations. With some gifted hackers going ahead to enjoy interviews in the media or their stories being captured in films, such has motivated hackers to continue undertaking the practice despite the sanctions associated with unethical hacking. Young et al. (2007) further add that hackers tend to be motivated to undertake their hacking escapades due to the uncertainty of the law (Young et al., 2007). Since they can easily get away with the atrocities they commit, many hackers are motivated to join this unethical practice explaining the rise in hacking activities in the last two decades.

Sukhai (2004), on the other hand, mentions how the motivation for hacking stems from the desire to find a sense of self-satisfaction or notoriety. Hackers tend to be motivated by a certain sense of achievement if they manage to break the system of a well-secured organization or person. For instance, the hacking of the Twitter account of the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom in 2022 is a perfect example of how an individual seeks to get a moment of self-recognition. Sukhai (2004) adds that hackers tend to be competitive and challenge each other to gain recognition from the individuals they have exploited. In the wake of increased social media usage, this has been made possible as the platforms are effective places for hackers to boast of their activities and gain the attention they want. However, as mentioned by Sukhai (2004), the biggest motivation for hacking is the need for financial gain. Hackers tend to hack individual passwords where they get the avenue to access a customer’s bank or credit card details and go ahead to withdraw or use the card to purchase some items that they want (Sukhai, 2004). Alternatively, the hackers may choose to sell this personal and sensitive data to other hackers or on the dark web for personal profits. In some instances, they may contact the hacked person for ransom to release the details back to the legitimate owner. All these are ways the hackers use to gain money, regardless of how unethical it is. Still, on financial motivation, the hackers tend to extend their activities to a large scale level when they hack organizations’ systems with the desire to reap big in terms of ransom or kill the company’s competitive advantage. Most of the organization hacking is sometimes facilitated by outside individuals, such as competitors to a given establishment.

Maimon & Louderback (2019) mention that the motivation for hacking at times arises from the need for revenge. Individuals who may feel that an individual or organization has wronged them may go ahead to initiate a cyberattack and compromise their systems just as a way to feel good for the offense meted on them (Maimon & Louderback, 2019). Lastly, hacking may be initiated by an individual or organization because of good faith. Some hacking is usually targeted towards the testing of the system vulnerabilities, and the hackers may offer suggestions for system improvements in the event