Have you ever wondered why hackers actually hack? The survey data acquired by Finbold.com provides some interesting insights into the phenomenon with about 68% of hackers initiating attacks in order to be challenged.

The survey revealed that making money accounts for the second-highest reason for hacking at 53% while learning tips and techniques accounts for 51%.

Notably, about 49% of hackers launch attacks just to have fun. Additionally, 44% of hackers usually want to advance their careers as the fifth reason for hacking. Furthermore, showing off accounts for one of the least reasons for hacking at about 8%.

The research also reviewed some of the popular hacking platforms where websites account for the majority 71%. APIs account for about 7% followed by Android mobile at 4%. Interestingly, technologies with a hacker’s users data account for 4% as well as operating systems with the same figure. Firmware accounts for the least platform at 1%.

The research shows that out of the overviewed hackers 30% have been hacking for between one to two years. On the other hand, only 20% of hackers have been hacking for three to five years. Notably, only 5% of hackers have been hacking for more than 15 years.

Some of the popular hacking trends expected to evolve include social engineering and phishing, malware injection, missing security patches, cracking passwords, and distributed denial of service.

Additionally, hackers have reportedly used AI to outsmart existing cybersecurity systems.

The survey featured over 3,150 respondents from at least 120 countries and territories.