Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Holborow, and welcome to Computing.

I'm so pleased you've decided to join me for the lesson today.

In today's lesson, we'll be exploring the costs of cybercrime and what is the typical motivation for hackers.

For example, are all hackers criminals? Welcome to today's lesson from the unit Cyber Threats and Security.

This lesson is called the Cost of Cybercrime and Hacker Motivation.

And by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to describe hacker motivations and the cost of cybercrime.

Shall we make a start? We will be exploring these keywords in today's lesson.

Cybercrime.

Cybercrime, any illegal activity that involves a computer, network or digital device.

Society.

Society, a group of people who live together in a community and follow shared rules, values and systems. Hacker.

Hacker, someone who uses their computer skills to access systems or networks, sometimes to fix problems and sometimes to cause harm.

Malicious.

Malicious, something that is done on purpose to harm, damage or hurt someone or something.

Look out for these keywords throughout today's lesson.

Today's lesson is broken down into two parts.

We'll start by describing the costs of cybercrime and then we'll move on to explain what motivates hackers.

Let's make a start by describing the costs of cybercrime.

What do you think is happening below? Take a few minutes to look carefully.

You may want to even pause your video.

Did you see what's happened? This user's files have been locked and someone is demanding payment to release access to the files.

Take a look at this other example.

What's happening? Maybe pause your video again whilst you read it carefully.

Did you see the user's been sent a follow-up message? Although they've paid the amount, only 50% of their data has been released and the attacker is requesting more money this time.

A cybercrime is any illegal activity that involves a computer, network or digital device.

Cybercrimes target systems, steal data or harm people and society through the internet.

At any moment in time, many cybercrimes are happening across the world.

The link below shows a live representation of the number of cyberattacks being detected at any moment.

You can follow the link if you'd like to at oak.

link/threat-map.

Let's go and take a look at it now.

So, you can see today there's been 702,000 attacks, and you can see some of the locations of the attacks which have been exploited, so we've got quite a few happening in the United States, we've got quite a few happening over in Kazakhstan, and a few others that are popping up in different places.

If you want to, you can spend some time looking at the threat map and investigating this a bit further.

There are many costs associated with cybercrime, such as financial impact, reputational damage, operational disruption, and social and human impact.

Let's take a look at these in a bit more detail.

The financial impact of a cybercrime is significant.

Cybercrime costs the digital economy billions of dollars annually.

Businesses may have to make ransom payments so that important data can be recovered.

Cyberattacks can result in long-term financial damage to businesses due to the loss of revenue during the disruption, and a potential decline in customer trust and retention afterwards.

When a cybercrime is committed against an organisation, its reputation can be damaged.

Reputational damage happens when a company or individual loses trust and credibility after a cyberattack or data breach.

Even if the initial financial loss is small, the long-term impact on how people see and trust the organisation and brand can be serious.

Customers may stop using a service if they lose trust after their personal data has been leaked.

Business partners or investors may pull out due to security concerns.

Time to check your understanding.

True or false, cybercrimes only cause financial impact to individuals and organisations? Pause the video whilst you have a think.

Did you select false? Well done.

There are many costs associated with cybercrime, such as financial costs, reputational costs, operational costs and impacts on society.

Cyberattacks can cause disruption to everyday operation of businesses and critical services.

Many businesses rely heavily on digital systems for their daily operations.

An attack on these systems can cause significant delays and disruptions to regular operations.

For example, if a company's website is targeted and that website has to be taken down, they may lose orders throughout that period.

The social and human costs of cyberattacks are often overlooked but can be devastating beyond the financial damage to a business, there are broader societal and personal impacts that can affect individuals, families and communities.

Victims of cyberattacks like identity theft can experience emotional distress.

The process of recovering from such attacks can lead to anxiety, depression and loss of trust in digital platforms. Cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, like healthcare systems or public safety networks, can directly affect people's wellbeing.

For example, a hospital's network being hacked could delay to treatment, putting patients' lives and well-being at risk.

Time to check your understanding.

What is often a long-lasting cost of a cyberattack on a business? Is it A, cost of replacing computers, B, overtime wages paid to IT staff, or C, reputational damage and loss of customer trust? Pause the video whilst you have a think.

Did you select C? Well done.

Reputational damage and loss of customer trust.

Reputational damage and loss of customer trust are often a long-lasting cost of a cyberattack on a business.

True or false, cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure like healthcare systems can directly affect people's health and well-being.

Pause the video whilst you have a think.

That's right, this is true.

For example, if a hospital systems are affected, people's appointments or follow-up care may be affected, which will have a long-term impact on people's health and well-being.

Okay, we're moving on to our first task of today's lesson.

Andeep says, "I've heard lots about cybercrimes on the news recently.

I know there are many financial costs to businesses and individuals, but I'm not sure what the other costs are linked to cybercrimes?" Write a paragraph to describe two costs, other than financial, that occur as a result of cybercrimes.

Pause the video here whilst you complete the activity.

How did you get on with your paragraph? Did you manage to describe two costs which were other than financial? Well done.

Let's have a look at the sample answer together.

"Cybercrimes can lead to a range of serious costs beyond financial loss, including reputational damage, operational disruption and impacts on humans and wider society.

Businesses and individuals can suffer reputational damage as a result of cybercrime.

This can mean trust is easily lost and it can be difficult to rebuild relationships with customers or the public.

Operational disruption is another cost, as cyberattacks can shut down systems, delay services and interrupt daily activities.

If a cyberattack happens against important infrastructure like a hospital, there can be a large risk to public safety and human lives." Okay, so so far we've described the cost of cybercrime, let's move on now to explain what motivates hackers.

Cyberattacks can be both local and global, depending on the target, scope and intent of the attacker.

Local cyberattacks may be smaller in scale and are often motivated by personal gain, revenge or local political issues.

Local cyberattacks may be easier to trace and can sometimes be resolved more quickly.

Global cyberattacks are often large scale and highly disruptive.

They are usually state-sponsored or organised by cybercriminal groups.

They can be more complex and harder to defend against due to the widespread impact and clever tactics.

Sam says, "I've heard people say that hackers are cybercriminals and that they all commit cybercrimes." Do you agree with that statement from Sam? Maybe pause the video whilst you have a think.

Not all hackers commit cybercrimes.

There are lots of different types of hacker, and some even help prevent cybercrimes.

Sam says, "So what is a hacker then?" A hacker is someone who uses their computer skills to access systems or networks and overcome a technical problem.

Some hackers fix and solve problems, and some use their skills to cause harm.

It all depends on their motivation.

There are many different types of hacker, each with different motivations.

In general, hackers fall within one of the following categories: white hat ethical hackers, grey hat hackers, or black hat malicious hackers.

A white hat hacker is an ethical hacker who uses their computer skills to protect systems and data.

They work to find and fix security problems before malicious hackers can take advantage of them and cause harm.

White hat hackers have permission to do their work and are often employed by companies and governments.

They are motivated by helping others to improve their security.

A grey hat hacker is someone who uses their computer skills to break into a computer system without permission but does not intend to do harm.

Their goal is often to find security issues and then they may report problems back to organisations after hacking into systems. They are sometimes motivated by curiosity, recognition or reward even though their actions are illegal.

A black hat hacker is someone who uses their computer skills to illegally break into a computer system without permission.

Their goal is to steal data, spread malware or cause damage for personal gain with malicious intent.

They are motivated by money, revenge, political goals, or just to cause chaos.

Their actions are illegal and harmful.

A table can be used to compare types of hacker.

So here you can see we have the three different types of hacker: white hat, black hat, and grey hat.

So we can see that white hat hackers have the ethical and protective intent.

They have permission and it is legal.

Their motivation is to test systems for weaknesses and to improve security.

Black hat hackers have malicious or harmful intent.

They don't have permission and their type of hacking is illegal.

They are often motivated by personal gain, theft or to cause damage.

Grey hat hackers have the intent which is mixed.

Sometimes it may be curious, sometimes they may be trying to be helpful.

They don't have permission and their activity is still illegal.

Their motivation is often to find vulnerabilities without permission.

Sometimes they may report them.

Time to check your understanding.

Which type of hacker has specific permission to do their work? Is it A, white hat, B, black hat, or C, grey hat? Pause the video whilst you have a think.

Did you select A, white hat? Well done.

Which type of hacker may attempt to find security issues without permission but doesn't intend to do harm? Is it A, black hat, B, grey hat, or C, white hat? Pause the video whilst you have a think.

Did you select B, grey hat? Well done.

True or false, all hackers work illegally for personal gain or to cause damage and harm? Pause the video whilst you have a think.

Did you select false? Well done.

Not all hackers work illegally or for personal gain.

Black hat hackers do act illegally and often aim to cause damage or steal for profit.

White hack hackers use their skills legally and ethically to protect systems and improve cybersecurity.

Grey hat hackers typically gain unauthorised access to systems, which is illegal even if motivations are not malicious.

Sam says, "Hi Andeep, did you know that there are three main types of hacker, each with different motivations?" Andeep says, "Hi Sam, I had no idea! I thought all hackers were cybercriminals who were motivated by gaining money." Were you similar to Andeep? Did you think that all hackers were cybercriminals? For task B, I'd like you to use your knowledge from today's lesson to explain the three types of hacker to Andeep, along with each of their possible motivations.

Pause the video here whilst you complete the task.

How did you get on with your explanations? Let's have a look at a sample answer together.

"White hat hackers are ethical hackers who have permission to use their skills to protect people and organisations from cyber threats.

They are usually employed by companies or governments and are motivated by the desire to improve security, help others and earn a legal income.

Grey hat hackers do not have permission to gain access to systems. Their actions are still illegal, even if they do not intend harm.

They are motivated by curiosity, recognition or the hope of a reward.

Black hat hackers are cybercriminals who illegally break into systems to steal data, spread malware or cause damage.

Their actions are harmful and illegal.

They are often motivated by money, revenge, political goals, or simply a desire to create chaos." Remember, if you need to pause your video here and add any extra detail to your answer, you can do that now.

Okay, we've come to the end of today's lesson, the cost of cybercrime and hacker motivation.

You've done a fantastic job, so well done.

Let's summarise what we've learned together during today's lesson.

Cybercrimes target systems, steal data, or harm people and society through the internet.

Cybercrimes can lead to a wide range of costs, including financial, reputational, operational, and social impacts.

A hacker is someone who uses their computer skills to access computers or networks and overcome a technical problem.

A hacker is someone who uses their computer skills to access systems or networks and overcome a technical problem.

There are three types of hacker: white hat, grey hat, and black hat.

Each type is motivated by different factors.

Grey and black hat hackers work illegally.

White hat hackers have permission and are employed to improve security.

I hope you've enjoyed today's lesson, and I hope you'll join me again soon.

Bye.