
Like most hackers, I don't really care about money very much. I do what I do primarily for artistic satisfaction, and what I want is to know that other people consider it good art... you don't really know that you are evolving in the right direction unless reality and other people confirm that. So, like most other hackers, my most fundamental motivation is that I want other hackers to think that I'm doing good work. And I want them to believe I'm effective and fruitful and a good designer and so forth.
A question that we hear a lot when it comes to cyber-crime: What are hackers after, anyways?
There are a lot of different types of hackers and computer scammers out there, so there’s no one answer. Some of them are just practical jokers, some use viruses to get revenge on the company they were fired from, or just to bother random people online. The main reason hacking exists, however, is that it’s a great way to make a dishonest living by stealing information from unsuspecting users.
If you have the know how, the time, and the lack of moral scruples, it’s really not that hard to crack into someone’s computer with a spybot and monitor their activity, or even to take control of their computer from afar and look right into their files.
So now the question becomes “Why?” Why do hackers want that information so badly?
There are a number of things a hacker can do with the information they steal from you. The most obvious example would be, of course, that they can steal your financial information or your identity, using your credit card number to buy whatever they like or even getting into your bank account.
—————