Political psychologists Jerrold Post and Eric Shaw of George Washington University, who have done work for the Central Intelligence Agency, among others, have profiled the multiple motivations of the intruders. Post, Shaw and colleague Keven Ruby last year published an article outlining a topology of hacker behavior in Security Management magazine. Good Samaritans cut information security corners to get the job done faster or better. Hackers break into systems to impress themselves and others. Machiavellians use computer hacking skills to advance a personal agenda.
Exceptions see themselves as candidates for special infosec care and handling.
Avengers are looking for revenge in response to perceived slights and setbacks. Career thieves are computer-enabled white collar crooks embezzlers, con artists, and others who view their employment as little more than a license to steal. Moles steal too, but for governments or other companies. While there is no surefire way to single out a would-be hacker, corporations are taking a more serious look at how to avoid hiring these individuals. Approaches short of psychological profiling can be very effective, and are becoming more widely employed, such as background checks, polygraphs, online monitoring, online name searches, employee counseling and awareness training.