Computer hacking seemed so quaint when I was growing up. It was pretty much limited to Ferris Bueller sitting at his computer in his pajamas, changing the number of his absences right under Mr. Rooney’s nose. These days, cybercrime isn’t so cute or harmless—it’s as destructive as it is common—found in virtually every other headline: Wikileaks; the Sony hack; the Target breach; Snowden and the NSA. And if the news is to be believed, we’re all vulnerable the second we swipe our debit card. But more than anything, there’s a lot left to uncover about the psychology of hacking, like: “Why the hell do people do it in the first place?” According to a brand-new study, the answer to that question may reveal as much about cybercrime as it does the connection between hacking and substance abuse.
Is Hacking an Addiction?
As reported by BBC News, a study prepared for Europol found “there are parallels between the way youngsters turn into hackers and how youths become addicted to drugs and alcohol.” In other words, teen hackers are chasing down the same exact rush that they’d otherwise get from hard drugs. It all comes down to something that’s all-too-familiar for people suffering from drug addiction: dopamine. It’s the chemical that lights up the pleasure center of the brain like a Christmas tree. “[It] can be released quickly as vulnerable youth achieve frequent and rapid successes online, and if these successes are linked to anti-social acts, such as hacking, they will be reinforced to pursue further ends to obtain their gains,” the report says about the chemical. If that sounds a lot like any other addiction, you’d be right.
Still, hacking isn’t actually classified as an addiction—yet. “In the [American Psychiatric Association’s] last Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, internet addiction did not make it through,” the BBC quoted Dr. Mary Aiken, a forensic cyberpsychologist. Evidence is mounting, however, that computer hacking isn’t unlike, say, online gambling. Take, for example, the Pennsylvania man who hacked hundreds of female celebrities’ personal accounts, including actress Jennifer Lawrence, to steal nude photos. Sentenced to 18 months in prison, he acknowledged that he had “access to more than 100 Google and Apple accounts” and an addiction to computer hacking (not to mention computer pornography) that spiraled out of control. If hackers are addicts, then it means that the same treatment methods for substance abuse may apply to the people who commit cybercrimes.
Behind the Screens
Part of the allure of computer hacking for teens is that most parents don’t even know it exists. “Many youngsters see the internet as a place that is not watched over by guardians,” the BBC article said about the study. “They then encourage each other to carry out more serious acts, helping ‘normalize’ bad behavior.” In a space where teens are only interacting and socializing with other teens, it’s kind of like an online summer camp where the merit badges are “Website Intrusion” and “Covert Downloading.”
The BBC story also contends that teens aren’t into hacking for the money—quite the opposite. Just like drug use, it’s more about the social currency it carries. And with each greater hack, a greater online reward follows “in order to compensate for what might be a lack of self-esteem in the rest of their lives.” Where Reddit has karma points, Twitter has re-tweets and Facebook has Likes, hacking brings the desire to increase their “reputation scores online.” In fact, it “becomes so important that young hackers can invest copious amounts of cognitive and emotive resources.” Put another way: teens get so wrapped up in the online world of hacking that it’s as real, if not more real, than their ordinary ones. It carries a deep psychological and emotional weight.
Still, this might be the very key to saving teen hackers before it’s too late. Alcoholics and addicts benefit from spending time with other alcoholics and addicts in recovery, so hackers might see the same success. “By getting them to spend time with role models and teaching them to acknowledge how much damage their acts can do to others, so too can hackers be taught to change their ways,” the BBC article reasoned. Having young hackers interact with “rehabilitated cyber-offenders” may help people “consider the psychological harm online attacks can cause.” Looking beyond their computer screens may have the greatest benefit of all: being able to see other people as people. Additionally, just as some school programs can identify “at-risk” kids who might be susceptible to drug and alcohol abuse before it happens, educators may very well be able to “identify which children have the highest potential for technological skills when they are as young as four” and put them on a more positive, healthy path.
Fighting Fire With Fire
Another movie from my misspent youth was a Robert Redford film called Sneakers, where he’d organized a group of misfit hackers, security experts and ex-CIA agents—all of whom had shady pasts. Some of them were on the run. Redford’s team was paid by major corporations to break into their buildings to test their security systems. Shortly after breaking into a corporate office, he saunters into that same exact office to get paid, where he’s quickly told his profession is “not a very good one.” It’s a scene that, while funny, does underscore that there are people out there whose skills and talents can cut both ways.
Similarly, many experts believe that budding cybercriminals shouldn’t be cut from the Internet or restricted from going to certain sites. Putting digital shackles on teens does no one any good. Instead, they should be re-focused, re-directed and encouraged. “There are a lot of people who would also be considered to be quite ‘addicted’ to technology, but who fight against hacks,” Dr. Alice Hutchings from the University of Cambridge told the BBC. “These are people who write code and do really fascinating, great work, but are not involved in illegal behavior.” Instead of focusing their energies on taking down websites for notoriety, teen hackers could help combat cyberterrorism by thinking like other hackers. It’s the sort of fighting-fire-with-fire approach that could help hackers do good for themselves and others. Being part of a community of other hackers isn’t unlike the fellowship of AA: being around other addicts and listening to their stories may help them decrypt a much brighter future.
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