Abstract
The damage caused by illegal hacking has become one of the serious problems facing society. Based on general deterrence theory, social bond theory and social learning theory, the paper proposes a model which examines the factors affecting the likelihood an individual will engage in illegal hacking behavior. Data was gathered from a survey of 127 individuals who attended a hacker’s conference. The results indicate that the severity of punishment has a significant positive relationship with the hacking execution while the certainty of punishment has a significant negative relationship with the hacking execution. The results also suggest that the greater an individual’s commitment to conventional activities and the stronger the individual’s belief in following the norms and rules of society, the less likely he or she will engage in illegal hacking behavior. Finally, interaction with other computer hackers significantly impacts illegal hacking behavior.
Recommended Citation
Young, Randall and Zhang, Lingling, "Factors Affecting Illegal Hacking Behavior" (2005). AMCIS 2005 Proceedings. 457.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2005/457