Individual motives for committing cybercrimes:

1. Multiple Reasons (Socioeconomic, Psychological, Financial factors): I believe this is the most common reason people commit cyber crimes. Multiple-roles play a huge factor here and the world around them. Media, music, work-life balances stressors, and financial situations can cause someone to commit a cyber crime or become interested in learning to hack.

2. Political: Another huge reason people use their hacking skills is for political reasons. I see lots of “Hacktivism” articles and if people are not happy with the government, they will make it known. A lot of cybercrimes happen around election years and it goes to show that people are always trying to sway certain parties and organizations throughout the United states and the rest of the world.

3. Money: People will do all kinds of crazy things for money, including hacking! They may not even have an opinion on the job itself, they just do the job for the money. Money plays a huge role in everyone’s lives and some hackers are just in it for the big bucks. 

4. Entertainment: Humans need to be entertained. It is just a part of how we operate. Some hackers will want to put their skills to the test and see how much damage that they can cause. I also feel like hackers are adrenaline junkies and are looking for that rush. It can be because they know that they have done something wrong and that it is against the law, and the thought of possibly getting caught and causing mayhem for the victims organization can all be a thrill. Although this is a popular reason I don’t think it deserves to be in the top 3.

5. Recognition: Some hackers want to make a name for themselves. They want to be a part of the community and they want to be well known or idolized. Some very well known hackers are known as “Anonymous”. This group is very well known around the world and they are known for lots of different cyber attacks against governments and organizations that oppress the lower working class and civilians of that country. Some hackers might want to join a group like this and becoming recognized is the first step.

6. Revenge: I have read lots of articles about “revenge-porn” and I have also watched the Netflix documentary “The most hated man on the internet” about revenge porn. Although this crime is very common I feel it is in the top for me because you are very likely to get caught and I feel it is more teenagers and younger generations doing this. It is completely pointless to post someone’s nudity. There’s no real reward and I feel it just comes down to the personal relationship on why this is done. 

7. Boredom: Curiosity and boredom is the smallest reason on my list while people hack. Yes it does cause people to commit cybercrime but out of pure boredom I do not believe experienced hackers would waste their skills. Maybe to practice on their home lab but out of pure boredom I can not see why someone would spend countless hours just because they are bored. Political and money reasons come first.