INVITATION TO CYBERSECURITY 58 What type of person is drawn to hacking? Studies show that there are some general personality characteristics shared by many hackers. For example, hackers are typically curious and intelligent. Their curiosity leads them to start probing and exploring computers. They may start by taking computing devices apart physically to try and see how they work. Later, they may want to learn programming and explore how operating systems and the Internet work. Coupled with intelligence and persistence, they may derive an emotional high from the experience of discovery, motivating them to continue pushing boundaries. Hackers may also express some obsessive compulsive behaviors. Hacking can be tedious and frustrating. It takes a lot of trial and error and a persistent effort to find a vulnerability. Many hackers possess a drive that pushes them to keep trying long after others would have given up. Black hat hackers especially may have a strong dislike of authority. This could be due to a traumatic childhood and the lack of positive role models. They may think of the Internet as a meritocracy where real-world systems of status and acceptance are irrelevant. As hackers, they can compete with others on a level playing field. They may hack into systems as a way to seek power or control over others. 3.2 Hacking Culture Part of “knowing thy enemy” is exploring the history and culture of hacking. Studies of culture typically examine facets of a people such as language, art, literature, commerce, folklore, and traditions. This section provides a brief overview of hacking culture in the United States. Within hacking culture, especially in the realm of cybercrime, there’s a distinct lack of trust. Nobody knows who can be trusted, making everybody paranoid and suspicious. Somebody that seems to be trustworthy one day might be revealed to be an undercover law enforcement officer the next. It is actually possible they really were a cybercriminal one day and work for law enforcement the next because they were caught and agreed to turn on their fellow hackers in hopes of a more lenient sentence! This paranoia creates isolation in the hacking community. Even though some aspects of hacking culture may seem glamorous, keep in mind the darker and more sinister forms of hacking that wreak devastation in the lives of victims. 3.2.1 Language and Art Leet speak arose early in hacking culture as a way to circumvent online bulletin board (i.e., web forum) word filters. People developed a simple system where numbers substituted for letters. For example, the number 1 replaced the letter L, 3 replaced E, 7 replaced T, 5 replaced S, and so on. This became known as leet speak which is short for elite speak and is sometimes written 1337 for leet. The world of hacking overlaps with both computer programming and video gaming culture, especially when it comes to acronyms and lingo. In the gaming realm, pwn means
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