Skip to main content

Computer Hacking and the Hacker Subculture

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of International Cybercrime and Cyberdeviance

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the phenomenon of computer hacking, and the ways that individuals with an interest in hacking view themselves and the larger social environment in which they engage with others. The historical development of hacking is discussed in the context of technological change, along with various reasons for which individuals may hack various targets.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 649.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andress, J., & Winterfeld, S. (2013). Cyber warfare: techniques, tactics, and tools for security practitioners. Waltham: Syngress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bachmann, M. (2010). The risk propensity and rationality of computer hackers. The International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 4, 643–656.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bossler, A. M., & Burruss, G. W. (2011). The general theory of crime and computer hacking: Low self-control hackers? In T. J. Holt & B. H. Schell (Eds.), Corporate hacking and technology-driven crime: Social dynamics and implications (pp. 38–67). Hershey: ISI Global.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bossler, A. M., & Holt, T. J. (2009). On-line activities, guardianship, and malware infection: An examination of routine activities theory. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 3, 400–420.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brake, M. (1980). The Sociology of Youth Cultures and Youth Subcultures. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brenner, S. W. (2008). Cyberthreats: The emerging fault lines of the nation state. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ceruzzi, P. (1998). A history of modern computing. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denning, D. E. (2010). Cyber-conflict as an emergent social problem. In T. J. Holt & B. Schell (Eds.), Corporate hacking and technology-driven crime: Social dynamics and implications (pp. 170–186). Hershey: IGI-Global.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dupont, B., Côté, A. M., Boutin, J. I., and Fernandez, J. (2017). Darkode: Recruitment patterns and transactional features of “the most dangerous cybercrime forum in the world”. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(11), 1219–1243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Furnell, S. (2002). Cybercrime: Vandalizing the information society. London: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilboa, N. (1996). Elites, lamers, narcs, and whores: Exploring the computer underground. In L. Cherny & E. R. Weise (Eds.), Wired_Women (pp. 98–113). Seattle: Seal Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbert, S. (1998). Police subculture reconsidered. Criminology 36(2):343–370.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J. (2007). Subcultural evolution? Examining the influence of on- and off-line experiences on deviant subcultures. Deviant Behavior, 28, 171–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J. (2009). Lone hacks or group cracks: Examining the social organization of computer hackers. In F. Schmalleger & M. Pittaro (Eds.), Crimes of the internet (pp. 336–355). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J. (2010). Examining the role of technology in the formation of deviant subcultures. Social Science Computer Review, 28, 466–481.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J. (2012). Examining the Forces Shaping Cybercrime Markets Online. Social Science Computer Review 31(2):165–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J. (2013). Exploring the social organisation and structure of stolen data markets. Global Crime 14(2–3):155–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J., & Bossler, A. M. (2016). Cybercrime in progress: Theory and prevention of technology-enabled offenses. Routledge: London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J., & Kilger, M. (2012). Know your enemy: The social dynamics of hacking. The Honeynet Project. [Online] Available at: https://honeynet.org/files/Holt%20and%20Kilger%20-%20KYE%20-%20The%20Social%20Dynamics%20of%20Hacking.pdf

  • Holt, T. J., & Lampke, E. (2010). Exploring stolen data markets on-line: Products and market forces. Criminal Justice Studies, 23, 33–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J., Burruss, G. W., & Bossler, A. M. (2010). Social learning and cyber deviance: Examining the importance of a full social learning model in the virtual world. Journal of Crime and Justice, 33, 15–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J., Bossler, A. M., & May, D. C. (2012). Low self-control, deviant peer associations, and juvenile cyberdeviance. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 37(3), 378–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J., Freilich, J. D., & Chermak, S. M. (2017). Exploring the subculture of ideologically motivated cyber-attackers. Journal of contemporary criminal justice, 33(3), 212–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J., Smirnova, O., & Chua, Y. T. (2016). Data thieves in action: Examining the international market for stolen personal information. New York City: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J., Stonhouse, M., Freilich, J., Chermak, S. M. (2019) Examining ideologically motivated cyberattacks performed by Far-Left groups. Terrorism and Political Violence,1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, T. J., Kilger, M., Strumsky, D., & Smirnova, O. (2009). Identifying, exploring, and predicting threats in the Russian Hacker Community. Presented at the Defcon 17 Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollinger, R. C., Lanza-kaduce L. (1988). The process of criminalization: the case of computer crime laws*. Criminology 26(1):101–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang, W., & Brockman, A. (2010). Social Engineering Exploitations in Online Communications: Examining Persuasions used in Fraudulent E-mails. In Holt, T. J. (ed.), Crime On-line: Causes, Correlates, and Context (pp. 87–112). Raleigh, NC: Carolina Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchings, A., & Holt, T. J. (2015). A crime script analysis of the online stolen data market. British Journal of Criminology, 55, 596–614.

    Google Scholar 

  • James, L. (2005). Phishing exposed. Rockland: Syngress.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, T., & Taylor, P. (1998). A sociology of hackers. The Sociological Review, 46, 757–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, T., & Taylor, P. (2004). Hacktivism and cyber wars. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kilger, M. (2010). Social dynamics and the future of technology-driven crime. In T. J. Holt & B. Schell (Eds.), Corporate hacking and technology-driven crime: Social dynamics and implications (pp. 205–227). Hershey: IGI-Global.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinkade, P. T., Bachmann, M., & Bachmann, B. S. (2013). Hacker Woodstock: Observations on an off-line cyber culture at the Chaos Communication Camp 2011. In T. J. Holt (Ed.), Crime on-line: Correlates, causes, and context (2nd ed., pp. 19–60). Raleigh: Carolina Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krance, M., Murphy, J., & Elmer-Dewitt, P. (1983). The 414 Gang Strikes Again. Time. [Online] Available at: www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,949797,00.html

  • Kranenbarg, M. W., Holt, T. J., & Jeroen van der Ham, (2018). Don’t shoot the messenger! A criminological and computer science perspective on coordinated vulnerability disclosure. Crime Science 7(1)

    Google Scholar 

  • Landreth, B. (1985). Out of the inner circle. Seattle: Microsoft Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leukfeldt, R., Kleemans, E. R., & Stol, W. (2017). Origin, growth, and criminal capabilities of cybercriminal networks. An international empirical analysis. Crime Law and Social Change, 67, 39–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, S. (2001). Hackers: Heroes of the computer revolution. New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Littman, J. (1997). The watchman: The twisted life and crimes of serial hacker Kevin Poulsen. New York: Little Brown.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loper, K. (2001, November). Profiling hackers: beyond psychology. In annual meeting of the American Academy of Sociology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marbach, W. (1983). Cracking Down on Hackers. Newsweek, 34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcum, C. D., Higgins, G. E., Ricketts, M. L., & Wolfe, S. E. (2014). Hacking in high school: Cybercrime perpetration by juveniles. Deviant Behavior, 35(7):581–591.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, G. R. (1989). The social organization of the computer underground. Master’s thesis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller W. B., (1958). Lower Class Culture as a Generating Milieu of Gang Delinquency. Journal of Social Issues 14(3):5–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitnick, K. D., & Simon, W. L. (2002). The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security. New York: Wiley Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Motoyama, M., McCoy, D., Levchenko, K., Savage, S., & Voelker, G. M. (2011). An Analysis of Underground Forums. IMC’11, 71–79.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rid, T. (2013). Cyberwar will not take place. London: Hurst Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schell, B. H., & Dodge, J. L. (2002). The hacking of America: Who’s doing it, why, and how. Westport: Quorum Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, H. (2008). Wargames. United Artists.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J. (2005). BBS: The documentary.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shimomura, T., & Markoff, J. (1996). Takedown: The pursuit and capture of Kevin Mitnick, America’s most wanted computer outlaw – by the man who did it. New York: Hyperion.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, W. F., & Fream, A. M. (1997). A social learning theory analysis of computer crime among college students. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 34, 495–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slatalla, M., & Quittner, J. (1995). Masters of deception: The gang that ruled cyberspace. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R., Grabosky, P., & Urbas, G. (2003). Cybercriminals on Trial. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinmetz, K. F. (2015). Craft(y)ness: An ethnographic study of hacking. British Journal of Criminology, 55, 125–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, P. (1999). Hackers: Crime in the digital sublime. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, D. (2002). Hacker culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turkle, S. (1984). The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verison. (2016). Version 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report. [Online] Avaiable at: https://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizons-2016-data-breach-investigations-report-finds-cybercriminals-are-exploiting-human

  • Voiskounsky, A. E., & Smyslova, O. V. (2003). Flow in Computer Hacking: A Model. Human.Society@Internet 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wall, D. S. (2001). Cybercrimes and the internet. In D. S. Wall (Ed.), Crime and the internet (pp. 1–17). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wall, D. S. (2007). Cybercrime: The transformation of crime in the information age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W. (2006). Steal this computer book 4.0: What they won’t tell you about the internet. Boston: No Starch Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woo H., Kim Y., & Dominick J. (2004) Hackers: Militants or Merry Pranksters? A Content Analysis of Defaced Web Pages. Media Psychology 6(1):63–82.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas J. Holt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Holt, T.J. (2020). Computer Hacking and the Hacker Subculture. In: Holt, T., Bossler, A. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of International Cybercrime and Cyberdeviance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78440-3_31

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics