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Photo: Kristin Bradley
Attackers are motivated by multiple factors. Previously, “experts” believed most attackers were social outcasts who were writing malicious software out of their parent’s basement. These attackers were not driven by any particular motive. They were more driven by the problem-solving aspect. They wanted to know if they could do it. This idea that attackers are socially inept kids based in the United States is quickly becoming inaccurate.
Most security articles are focused on the means of the attack. They don’t address what attackers are actually after.
The four motivating factors for attackers that have been identified are:
- Financial Gain
- Notoriety
- Political
- Vengeance
Financial Gain
Hacking, Malware, and Worm Creation is a money making opportunity. Worms, such as Conficker, are being tied to organized crime based in Soviet republics.
The tightly managed criminal organizations behind such scams—often based in Russia and former Soviet republics—treat malware like a business. They buy advanced code on the Internet’s black market, customize it, then sell or rent the resulting botnet to the highest bidders. They extend the worm’s life span as long as possible by investing in updates—maintenance by another name. This assembly line–style approach to crime works: of all the viruses that Symantec has tracked over the past 20 years, 60 percent of them have been introduced in the past 12 months.
This shouldn’t be surprising. If criminals have no problem killing another human and taking their wallet, why would they have problems stealing massive amounts of money electronically?
However, organized criminals aren’t the only attackers driven by financial gain. There is also evidence of financially driven attackers being petty criminals. These are the types that don’t have a great understanding of what they are doing. They can be found on websites specifically setup for trading credit card numbers or other Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Some researchers, such as Rios and Dhanjani, have done research into this subgroup. 
Notoriety
There is still evidence of hacking for notoriety. Most of these attackers are the “13-19″ year old kids described above. The reason these individuals attack systems is driven by their want to become famous.
A recent example is the Mikeyy worm created by Michael Mooney of StalkDaily. This sub-group usually will justify their attacks by stating, “I wanted to bring awareness to the problem.” This is a constructed answer but demonstrates their want to become famous. They are clearly stating, they were the ones who wanted to bring awareness to the issue. These attackers typically have a Robin Hood type mentality of bringing knowledge to the uninformed.
Political
These attackers are politically focused or driven by political means. This group includes “hacktivists” and foreign nationals driven to cause damage to an enemy country. Examples of these attacks are the Titan Rain and more recently Power Grid hacking.
Political motivation is frightening. Many countries will not deter attackers from hacking a foreign country. In addition, law enforcement has a hard time tracking down or arresting these type of attackers due to the lack of cooperation of foreign countries.
Vengeance
These attackers are the most dangerous. They will attack people who have somehow made them upset. Their driving factor is causing as much pain as possible for their victim.
These attacks typically target an ex-girlfriend or a celebrity. These are the electronic equivalent of breaking someones windshield. There is nothing that can really be done to prevent it other than to stop using the Internet.
