A survey report by Finbold.com, which featured over 3,150 respondents from at least 120 countries and territories has revealed that 68 percent of hackers initiate attacks to be challenged, while 71 percent opting for websites.
According to the data, websites are the most vulnerable hacking platforms, even as the respondents noted that making money accounts for the second-highest reason for hacking at 53 percent while learning tips and techniques accounts for 51 percent.
Notably, about 49 percent of hackers launch attacks just to have fun, while 44 percent of hackers usually want to advance their careers as the fifth reason for hacking. Also, showing off accounts for one of the least reasons for hacking at about 8 percent.
The research also reviewed some of the popular hacking platforms where websites account for the majority 71percent. APIs account for about 7 percent followed by Android mobile at 4 percent. Interestingly, technologies with a hacker’s users data account for 4 percent as well as operating systems with the same figure. Firmware accounts for the least platform at 1 percent.
The research shows that out of the overviewed hackers, 30 percent have been hacking for between one to two years. On the other hand, only 20 percent of hackers have been hacking for three to five years. Notably, only 5 percent of hackers have been hacking for more than 15 years.
Commenting on the data, Finbold.com Editor in Chief, Oliver Scot said: “Moving into the future, there will be an increase in the demand for security skills as hackers continue to evolve. More organizations are also increasingly insourcing their security needs through internal training and skills tailored training programs have emerged to be crucial.”
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.