New Age Crime

The word 'hacking' conjures an image of a teenage boy wearing a black hoodie,  typing hyper-actively and trying to enter a high-tech facility using nothing but his laptop while green codes float around him… or that's what movies and TV shows show us. Reality is not so moviesque. Hackers are intelligent people with specific behaviours, motives and manipulative techniques, making them hard to identify and even harder to catch. Their behaviour is studied and analysed by criminal psychologists who are a part of the cyber cell. With the increase in technology, the work done by such psychologists is intense and bewildering.
From choosing targets to choosing specific methods for each target, hackers make a series of complex and conscientious decisions. Catching them is difficult but not impossible. Psychologists and detectives not only use their digital traces but also the traces of personality that they unintentionally leave behind. 
Although cybercrime is carried out using weapons such as computers and technology, the actual perpetrators and victims are humans. And most of the time such crimes occur due to accidental human error. Furthermore, hackers often hack in groups. Unlike popular beliefs and depictions, hackers are not “solitary individuals” who are more at ease communicating with machines than with other people (Jordan & Taylor, 1998). These groups are usually a part of supply chains, quality management and customer service. Apart from this they also work individually - known as black hat hackers. They might distribute malware that steals passwords, credit card numbers, and other private data, damages files, or seizes control of systems. Most of them are male (90%) below the age of 30 (80%), start at a very young age (10-15 yrs), are well educated, above average intelligence and not usually from low socio-economic status. Hackers can be divided into the Black Hat and White Hat categories. The words come from the colour coding system used in the 1950s westerns when the good guys wore white while the bad guys wore black hats. 
Another question that might puzzle you is if these hackers are not from low socio-economic backgrounds, then why do they do it? If not for money then what? Denning (1999) found that the thrill of illegal behaviours, excitement, and challenge is the main reason for hacking. To them, it feels like an opportunity to beat the system. To prove that they are smarter and better than others, smarter than the authoritative figures. 
In a Ted talk by Mark T Hoffmann, he talks about how a fellow hacker said this to him. “I analyse people. In the end, human hacking works the same way that computer hacking works. You always look for vulnerabilities and try to exploit them.”
These hackers are social engineers who analyse our weakest psychological points by targeting them. Just like a magician’s trick, getting distracted by an illusion makes us wonder how the magician performs such marvellous feats. But, is it magic? No. Its misdirection. They target our critical thinking ability by introducing illusions within illusions. They target you by showing you messages such as “your system has been compromised or your account has been locked due to unusual activity, we request you to verify your account details as soon as possible” and then they hack into your computer when you open the links provided by them - an easy and effective method which works wonders in today’s anxiety-driven generation. 
To make such messages seem more valid they use the authority principle. We are easily influenced if we consider someone to be an authority. It is a persuasion technique. They use logos, brands and institution names to lure us into believing that the messages we are receiving are from a reliable source, therefore alarming us to a greater extent. Apart from that, they use sympathy. They play with human emotions and behaviour by using a great deal of psychology. 
According to Adam Anderson, an ex-NSA agent and IT specialist, most people believe three things that make them vulnerable to such online scams. “I am not important;  I do not have anything anyone would want; and  I cannot stop them even if I wanted to.” Cybercriminals are looking for someone with exactly this kind of a thought process . Data shows that 70 per cent of cybercrime is directed towards small businesses. 75 per cent of employees have risky cyber behaviour that puts such businesses at risk. . Everyone is vulnerable and naïve. The only way to become a human firewall and protect yourself is by being aware of these concepts. Awareness alone is the element powerful enough to prevent cybercrimes. Other steps could include maintaining cyber hygiene. (Maybe add a very very brief definition of cyber hygiene, or just explain what it is.)
Just like surgeons need to maintain good hygiene while operating, we need to maintain the same while using technology. Having a good backup of your data will go a long way. Choose a good cyber security insurance policy managed by trusted individuals. 
Cybercrime is more than just hacking. According to investigative journalist and guest professor of criminology, Donal Macintyre, the future of murder is cyber serial killing. Currently, Internet murder is in its early stages, with perpetrators meeting their victims online before carrying out their heinous acts in public. However, that is only the very beginning. There have already been many instances of killers and paedophiles finding and entrapping victims through social media, dating websites, and online chat rooms. 
The recent documentary about hunting an internet killer on Netflix shows the true horrors of the cyber world. How a group of inexperienced adults team up on Facebook and find a killer with the help of the internet and limited resources is impressive. It proves that technology isn’t always a bad thing. Or that's what they want you to think. The next half of the documentary shows how Luka Magnotta, the internet killer lures his victim, Jun Li through the help of a popular site called Craigslist. It's that simple. Humans tend to trust one another and that's what these criminals are looking for. 
The cyber-world is a boon for our generation but only if used with precaution and safety. One mistake could send you spiralling down a rabbit hole of lies and deception and who knows where it’ll lead you. Or who you’ll find! 
About the author
Muskaan Kalaria is a second-year student pursuing a BSc in Psychology at NMIMS SDSOS. She is passionate about creating art which is expressed in the form of painting, graphic designing and writing. Her passion for writing started as a method of expressing herself which later progressed into devotion towards scientific reading and writing. She enjoys her free time listening to music along with exploring and reading about topics that fascinate her.