Learn Hacking: Why Hackers Hack

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Learn Hacking

   

The main reason hack is because they can! Okay, it goes a little deeper than that. Hacking is a casual hobby for some hackers-they just hack to see what they can and can't break into, usually testing only their own systems. These aren't the folks I'm writing about here. I'm focusing on those hackers who are obsessive and often have criminal intent.

   Many hackers get a kick out of outsmarting corporate and government IT and security administrators. They thrive on making headlines and being notorious cyberoutlaws. Defeating an entity or possessing knowledge makes them feel better about themselves. Many of these hackers feed off instant gratification. They become obsessed with this feeling. Hackers can't resist the adrenaline rush they get when breaking into someone else's systems. Often, the more difficult the job is, the greater the thrill.

   The knowledge that malicious hackers gain and the elevated ego that comes with that knowledge are like an addiction and a way of life. some hackers want to make your life miserable, and other simply want to be seen or heard. Some common hacker motives are revenge, basic bragging rights, curiosity, boredom, challenge, vandalism, theft for financial gain, sabotage, blackmail, extortion, and corporate espionage.

   Hackers often promote individualism-or at least decentralization of information-because many believe that all information should be free. They think cyberattacks are different from attacks in the real world. They easily ignore or misunderstand their victims and the consequences of hacking.

   Many hackers say they don't intend to harm on profile through their bad deeds, which helps them justify their work. They often don't look for tangible payoffs. just proving a point is often a good enough reward for them.

   many business owners and managers-even some network and security administrators-believe that they don't have anything that a hacker wants or that hackers can't do much damage if they break in. This couldn't be further from the truth. This kind of thinking helps support hackers and their objectives. Hackers can compromise a seemingly unimportant system to access the network and use it as a launching pad for attacks on other systems.

   It's worth repeating that hackers often hack because they can. Some hackers go for high-profile systems, but hacking into anyone's system helps them fit into hacker circle. Hackers use the false sense of security that many people have and go for almost any system they think they can compromise. They know that electronic information can be in more than one place at the same time. It's tough to prove that hackers took the information and possess it.

   similarly, hackers know that a simple defaced Web page-however easily attacked-is not good for business. The following Web sites show examples of Web pages that have been defaced in the past few year:

• www.2600.com/hacked_pages
• www.onething.com/archive

Hacked sites like these can persuade management and other nonbelievers that information threats and vulnerabilities should be addressed.

   Hacking continues to get easier for several reasons:

• Increasing use of network and Internet connectivity
• Anonymity provided by computer systems working over the internet
• Increasing number and availability of hacking tools
• computer-savvy children
• unlikelihood that hackers are investigated or prosecuted if caugh

   Although most hacker attacks go unnoticed or unreported, hackers who are discovered are often not pursued or prosecuted. When they're caught, hackers often rationalize their services as being altruistic and a benefit to society: They're merely pointing out vulnerabilities before someone else does. Regardless, if justice is ever served, it helps eliminate the "fame and glory" reward system that hackers thrive on.

   These criminal hackers are in the minority, so don't think that you're up against million of these villains. Many other hackers just love to tinker and only seek knowledge of how computer systems work.

Hacking in the name of liberty

    Many hackers exhibit behaviors that contradict what they're fighting for-that is, they fight for civil liberties and want to be left alone, and at the same time, they love prying into other people's business. Many hackers claim to be civil libertarians supporting the principles of personal privacy and freedom. However, they act in an entirely different way by intruding on the privacy and property of others. They often steal the property and right of others, yet are willing to go to great lengths to get their own rights back from anyone who tries to take them away.
   The case against copyrighted  materials and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a classic example, Hackers have gone to great lengths to prove a point, from defacing the Web sites of organizations that support copyrights to illegally sharing music by using otherwise legal mediums such as Kazaa, Gnutella, and Morpheus.