Knowledge is power: An analysis of discussions on hacking forums

Abstract

There remains a lack of understanding on the social factors that influence the behaviours and beliefs of people who have an interest in hacking. This research sought to address that gap by exploring the conversations that take place on hacking forums and subreddits. Text in hacking related threads was collected from these sites over a period of several months. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software was used to determine the linguistic characteristics of each forum/ subreddit. Thematic analysis was then conducted on a subset of text from each source. The results of the LIWC analysis indicated that there are variations in several psychologically relevant factors between these forums and subreddits, including the degree to which users used language that indicated they were being honest, confident, analytical and emotional. There were several results that were inconsistent with stereotypes of hackers, such as a relative absence of language indicating anger. The thematic analysis identified several themes relating to knowledge, skills acquisition, honesty legality and risk. Overall, this research demonstrates that there exists an established online community of hackers, which are likely to be encountered by any young person who becomes interested in cybersecurity and hacking. These communities may potentially act as an important source of social support and social identity for their members. Understanding the dynamics of these communities may better help us steer people towards legitimate cybersecurity careers, where their passion and skills can be used for societal good.

Psychological profiling of hackers via machine learning toward sustainable cybersecurity

“…Figure 2 shows the research method adopted in this study (McAlaney et al, 2020;Bakas et al, 2021). This study uses a machine learning-based approach to validate the classification of different hacker types (White, Black, and Gray Hats) based on their dominant personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism).…”

Pathways Into, Desistance From, and Risk Factors Related to Cyber-Dependent Crime: A Systematic Narrative Review

“…Driven by their fascination for ICT, would-be hackers thus come into contact with others who have similar interests, as well as knowledge of hacking (Hutchings, 2013(Hutchings, , 2014McAlaney et al, 2020;National Crime Agency, 2017;Steinmetz, 2015). These online contacts and communities provide social support and play a crucial role in learning the knowledge and skills needed to hack, as well as the neutralization techniques used to rationalize criminal behavior.…”

Pathways into, desistance from, and risk factors related to cyber-dependent crime: A systematic narrative review

“…There are several, mostly intrinsic motivations, associated with an individual's involvement in hacking. The most commonly reported motivations are: amusement/entertainment/fun/thrill/excitement (Aiken et al, 2016;Bachmann, 2011;Cayubit et al, 2017;Chon, 2016;Hutchings, 2013;Turgeman-Goldschmidt, 2011;Van der Wagen et al, 2021), status, reputation and peer recognition (Aiken et al, 2016;Hutchings, 2013;Madarie, 2017;McAlaney et al, 2020;McBrayer, 2014;Van der Wagen et al, 2021), curiosity (Bachmann, 2011;Cayubit et al, 2017;Hutchings, 2013;Madarie, 2017;Turgeman-Goldschmidt, 2011), challengeseeking (Cayubit et al, 2017;Hutchings, 2013;Madarie, 2017;Schell & Melnychuk, 2011), interest in technology (Aiken et al, 2016;Leppänen et al, 2020;McAlaney et al, 2020), gaining knowledge and improving computer skills (Cayubit et al, 2017;Schell & Melnychuk, 2011), a sense of power (Hutchings, 2013;Turgeman-Goldschmidt, 2011;Van der Wagen et al, 2021), computer addiction (Aiken et al, 2016); a sense of accomplishment (Cayubit et al, 2017), misusing exploits (Cayubit et al, 2017), espionage (Hutchings, 2013), sexual gratification (Hutchings, 2013), and justice (Madarie, 2017). For the motivations financial gain (B...…”