Businesses are falling victim to cyber-attacks more frequently and the threat continues to grow year on year. The question is, why do hackers do it? Here are some of the more common reasons hackers to what they do:

Money

This one seems like the most obvious reason for someone to hack your business. Ransomware is one of the most common methods of attack used when the main aim is monetary. Hackers steal the personal/private data and ask for a ransom for it to be returned to the company.

UK suffered 2,215 ransomware attacks per day in the last 12 months and this number is only on the rise. Most found their data was encrypted and they had to pay the ransom to receive the encryption key and in turn their data.

The Challenge

It’s like a test. Breaking into a company’s system who have implemented security measures is a challenge for them as a barrier has been set to be broken. Statements made by people such as “breaking something not meant to be broken” and “accessing data not meant for their eyes” just reiterates what hackers attack companies simply for achievement purposes and bragging rights

Hacktivism

A group of hackers come together and work as almost a type of activist group. They do this normally for political or socially motivated purposes, using hacking tools to cause disruption and bring attention to the cause. Groups such as LulzSec and Anonymous are known “hacktivist” groups who have crashed government websites in order to get their message and cause across.

Revenge

Some hackers bring down entire company systems or disrupt their services as an act of revenge. Disgruntled employees and spurned job applicants are among the common culprit for this type of attack.

Subversion

Espionage is another reason people hack systems. They can obtain information that is never meant for the public eye though infiltrating the correct companies. They do this to companies such as financial institutions who are trying to cover their tracks and avoid scandal. One of the most recent subversion like attack was carried out by the Fancy Bears group, who leaked athlete’s medical records from the World Anti-Doping Agency earlier this year.

Notoriety

Hacking is seen by some as a competitive sport and they are motivated by a sense of achievement. Showing off their skill set, intelligence and ability by infiltrating a seemingly “unbreakable” barrier is what gets them noticed and praised in the hacking world.

So as you can see there are many reasons why they hack and it may seem like there is no stopping them getting in. Companies should take their cyber security seriously and implement disaster recovery plans, meaning that if they do manage to hack your systems you have a plan in place to limit the effect and disruption.

For more information on cyber security options and disaster recovery plans, don’t hesitate to contact Atlas Communications on 02890786868.