Profiling hackers : the science of criminal profiling as applied to the world of hacking

Complex and controversial, hackers possess a wily, fascinating talent, the machinations of which are shrouded in secrecy. Providing in-depth exploration into this largely uncharted territory, Profiling Hackers: The Science of Criminal Profiling as Applied to the World of Hackingoffers insight into the hacking realm by telling attention-grabbing tales about bizarre characters that practice hacking as an art.

Focusing on the relationship between technology and crime and drawn from the research conducted by the Hackers Profiling Project (HPP), this volume applies the behavioral science of criminal profiling to the world of internet predators. The authors reveal hidden aspects of the cyber-crime underground, answering questions such as: Who is a real hacker? What life does a hacker lead when not on-line? Is it possible to determine a hacker's profile on the basis of his behavior or types of intrusion? What is the motive behind phishing, pharming, viruses, and worms?

After gaining notoriety for breaking into many high-profile computer systems, the Italian hacker Raoul Chiesa turned to ethical hacking in 1995. Today he uses his skills and abilities to find ways to protect networks and computer systems. Stefania Ducci is a member of the Counter Human Trafficking and Emerging Crimes Unit at the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). Silvio Ciappi is a criminologist who lectures at the University of Pisa and studies criminal profiling. These three experts with vastly different backgrounds explore the clandestine network of cyber-criminals, providing an unparalleled glimpse into the secret lives of these malevolent individuals.

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Foreword	p. xv
Foreword to the Italian Edition	p. xvii
Book Presentation	p. xix
Introduction	p. xxi
Chapter 1 Introduction to Criminal Profiling	p. 1
Brief History of Criminal Profiling	p. 1
London, 1888	p. 1
Quantico, Virginia, 1970	p. 1
Liverpool, 1993	p. 3
California, 1997	p. 5
Serial Crimes and Criminal Profiling: How to Interpret Them	p. 6
The Crime Scene Reflects the Personality of the Perpetrator	p. 7
The Crime Method Tends to Remain the Same over Time	p. 7
Criminal Profiling: Applying It to Study Hackers	p. 9
Chapter 2 Introducing "Cybercrime"	p. 13
Information Technology and Digital Crimes	p. 15
1980, 1990, 2000: Three Ways of Looking at Cybercrime	p. 17
Mr. Smith, Hackers, and Digital Crimes in the IT Society	p. 17
Digital Crimes vs. Hacking: Terminology and Definitions	p. 20
Password Guessing	p. 21
Self-Replicating Code	p. 22
Password Cracking	p. 23
Exploiting Known Vulnerability	p. 25
Disabling Audit	p. 25
Backdoor	p. 26
Hijacking Session	p. 27
Sniffer	p. 27
Stealth Diagnostic	p. 28
Packet Spoofing	p. 28
GUI	p. 29
Automated Probe/Scan	p. 30
WWW Attack/Incident	p. 31
Denial of Service (DoS)	p. 31
Conclusions	p. 32
Chapter 3 To Be, Think, and Live as a Hacker	p. 33
Evolution of the Term	p. 35
The Artifacts of the Hacker Culture	p. 35
The Jargon File	p. 37
The Hacker Manifesto	p. 38
One Code of Ethics or More?	p. 39
Understanding Hackers: How Far Have We Gone?	p. 40
What Are the Motives behind Hacking?	p. 44
The Colors of the Underground	p. 46
Commonly Recognized Hacker Categories	p. 52
Wannabe Lamer	p. 53
Script Kiddie	p. 53
"37337 K-rAd iRC #hack 0-day Exploitz" Guy	p. 54
Cracker	p. 54
Ethical Hacker	p. 55
Quiet, Paranoid, Skilled Hacker	p. 55
Cyber-Warrior	p. 56
Industrial Spy	p. 56
Government Agent	p. 56
Chapter 4 The HPP Project	p. 57
The Planning Phase	p. 59
Phase 1 Theoretical Data Collection	p. 60
Phase 2 Observation	p. 62
Phase 3 Archiving	p. 63
Phase 4 "Live" Data Collection	p. 64
Phase 5 G&C Analysis	p. 65
Phase 6 HPP Live Assessment (24/7)	p. 65
Phase 7 Final Profiling	p. 66
Phase 8 Dissemination of the Model	p. 66
The Questionnaires	p. 66
The Format	p. 68
Distribution	p. 70
First-Level Analysis	p. 72
Provenance of the Questionnaires	p. 72
Basic Statistics	p. 73
Second-Level Analysis	p. 76
Time Spent Hacking	p. 78
Legal Aspects	p. 80
Personality	p. 82
Relationships with the Outside World	p. 84
Chapter 5 Who Are Hackers? Part 1	p. 87
What Are We Trying to Understand?	p. 87
Gender and Age Group	p. 90
Background and Place of Residence	p. 91
How Hackers View Themselves	p. 91
Family Background	p. 93
Socioeconomic Background	p. 95
Social Relationships	p. 95
Leisure Activities	p. 97
Education	p. 98
Professional Environment	p. 100
Psychological Traits	p. 102
To Be or to Appear: The Level of Self-Esteem	p. 105
Presence of Multiple Personalities	p. 106
Psychophysical Conditions	p. 108
Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Dependencies	p. 109
Definition or Self-Definition: What Is a Real Hacker?	p. 111
Relationship Data	p. 113
Relationship with Parents	p. 113
Relationship with the Authorities	p. 114
Relationships with Friends, Schoolmates, Colleagues at Work	p. 115
Relationships with Other Members of the Underground Community	p. 116
Chapter 6 Who Are Hackers? Part 2	p. 121
Handle and Nickname	p. 121
Starting Age	p. 122
Learning and Training Modalities	p. 122
The Mentor's Role	p. 125
Technical Capacities (Know-How)	p. 126
Hacking, Phreaking, or Carding: The Reasons behind the Choice	p. 127
Networks, Technologies, and Operating Systems	p. 130
Techniques Used to Penetrate a System	p. 131
Social Engineering	p. 133
Password Search	p. 134
Individual and Group Attacks	p. 135
The Art of War: Examples of Attack Techniques	p. 136
Attack Procedures	p. 138
War Dialing	p. 138
Ping-of-Death Attack against Web Servers	p. 138
NMAP	p. 138
Denial-of-Service (DoS)	p. 139
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attack	p. 140
Operating inside a Target System	p. 141
The Hacker's Signature	p. 142
Relationships with System Administrators	p. 143
Motivations	p. 144
The First Step	p. 144
Declared Motives	p. 145
Intellectual Curiosity	p. 147
Love of Technology	p. 150
Fun and Games	p. 150
Making the PC World Safer	p. 151
Fighting for Freedom	p. 152
Conflict with Authority	p. 153
Rebelliousness	p. 154
Spirit of Adventure and Ownership	p. 155
Boredom	p. 156
Attracting Attention, Becoming Famous	p. 156
Anger and Frustration	p. 156
Political Reasons	p. 158
Escape from Family, Escape from Society	p. 158
Professionals	p. 158
The Power Trip	p. 159
Lone Hackers	p. 161
Hacker Groups	p. 162
Initiation Rites	p. 163
Internal Organization of Groups	p. 164
Rules and Social Intercourse within the Group	p. 165
Favorite Targets and Reasons	p. 166
Specializations	p. 168
Web Defacing	p. 169
Software Cracking	p. 170
Principles of the Hacker Ethics	p. 171
Acceptance or Refusal of the Hacker Ethics	p. 174
Crashed Systems	p. 176
Hacking/Phreaking Addiction	p. 177
Perception of the Illegality of Their Actions	p. 179
Offenses Perpetrated with the Aid of IT Devices	p. 182
Offenses Perpetrated without the Use of IT Devices	p. 183
Fear of Discovery, Arrest, and Conviction	p. 183
The Law as Deterrent	p. 184
Effect of Convictions	p. 185
Leaving the Hacker Scene	p. 186
Beyond Hacking	p. 187
Chapter 7 Conclusions	p. 189
Afterword: Slaying Today's Dragons: Hackers in Cyberspace	p. 193
Appendix A HPP Questionnaire	p. 199
Appendix B Hacker Bios	p. 221
Appendix C The Nine Hacker Categories	p. 239
Appendix D The Hacker Manifesto (Conscience of a Hacker)	p. 243
Bibliography and Online References	p. 245
Index	p. 251

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