Categorizing Hackers

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There have been numerous studies and surveys trying to understand the type of people who use computers to commit crimes. Some studies have focused on the juvenile hacker while others have examined those who perform specific types of attacks. Some of these studies report similarities while other illustrate only the diversity in both the crimes and the criminals.

It may be a stereotype to describe computer hackers as anti-social geeks , but it is an accurate one ” at least for the best-known type of hacker, says Marc Rogers, a University of Manitoba psychologist and former Winnipeg police officer. He reports that the average " cyberpunk ," a hacker whose hobby has put him before the criminal courts, is a white, middle-class male, aged 12 to 28, who lacks social skills and comes from a dysfunctional family. They tend to be loners. They feel more comfortable behind a computer system than in face-to-face interaction. ^[7]

^[7] Bell, Stewart, "Computer Hackers Really Are Anti-social Geeks," National Post Online , 13 April 1999.

Sarah Gordon, who profiles cyber-criminals for IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, performed a study of virus writers which indicated a different picture of these cyber-criminals.

The virus writers in Gordon's study range from teenagers to college students to professionally employed grown-ups. Most virus writers have normal social lives, get along just fine with family and friends , and generally mean no harm.

Most lose interest in virus writing as they get older. However, adults who remain in the "virus underground " do tend to have a few social problems.

Otherwise, the only evident pattern she has found among virus writers is that they tend to be intelligent , educated , and male. Given the tools required for their trade, common sense also suggests that most probably live in households with middle-class or higher incomes. ^[8]

^[8] Beiser, Vince, "Inside the Virus Writer's Mind," 8 July 1999.

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