What motivates an individual to commit cybercrime? The six main reasons are:
1. Boredom
2. Challenge
3. Revenge
4. Greed
5. Sexual
6. Political and religious
These reasons are all considered to be interference with the lawful use of a computer (Britz, 2013, p.76). Cybercrimes require less planning and resources and lessen the chance of being caught (Motives, 2016). Boredom is a motive that might start off a life of cybercrime. Trying to get into a forbidden system could be seen as a quest for information that is not readily available to everyone. This can evolve into the challenge, to see if he or she can hack into a system, for a variety of reasons. The greed factor is self-evident; can a profit be made from breaking into the system? Revenge is also obvious, a person or company have wronged the individual, and he or she wants to embarrass or otherwise hurt …show more content…
Is there a typical profile for cybercriminals? Yes, there is. For one, cybercriminals will have some level of technical knowledge. They will either use someone else’s code or write their own. Secondly, they will rationalize why particular laws do not apply to them. They will also have a need for risk or thrills. They will enjoy outwitting and influencing others. Finally, they will all have some motive, be it monetary, or just the need to have some fun (Shinder, 2010). Jeanson James Ancheta created his bots for profit, he did have some technical expertise, and he manipulated thousands of people to download his code. As for David L. Smith, he stated that the ‘Melissa’ virus was created as a prank. He was a computer programmer, therefore he had enough technical skill to write his own code. Finally, he enjoyed outsmarting others, because he began to work for the FBI to expose other hackers. Cybercriminals do not always fit the profile, however. There is one curious addendum, there is not one female on the FBI list or any other list so
1. Boredom
2. Challenge
3. Revenge
4. Greed
5. Sexual
6. Political and religious
These reasons are all considered to be interference with the lawful use of a computer (Britz, 2013, p.76). Cybercrimes require less planning and resources and lessen the chance of being caught (Motives, 2016). Boredom is a motive that might start off a life of cybercrime. Trying to get into a forbidden system could be seen as a quest for information that is not readily available to everyone. This can evolve into the challenge, to see if he or she can hack into a system, for a variety of reasons. The greed factor is self-evident; can a profit be made from breaking into the system? Revenge is also obvious, a person or company have wronged the individual, and he or she wants to embarrass or otherwise hurt …show more content…
Is there a typical profile for cybercriminals? Yes, there is. For one, cybercriminals will have some level of technical knowledge. They will either use someone else’s code or write their own. Secondly, they will rationalize why particular laws do not apply to them. They will also have a need for risk or thrills. They will enjoy outwitting and influencing others. Finally, they will all have some motive, be it monetary, or just the need to have some fun (Shinder, 2010). Jeanson James Ancheta created his bots for profit, he did have some technical expertise, and he manipulated thousands of people to download his code. As for David L. Smith, he stated that the ‘Melissa’ virus was created as a prank. He was a computer programmer, therefore he had enough technical skill to write his own code. Finally, he enjoyed outsmarting others, because he began to work for the FBI to expose other hackers. Cybercriminals do not always fit the profile, however. There is one curious addendum, there is not one female on the FBI list or any other list so