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Year 11
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The cost of cyber crime and hacker motivation

I can describe hacker motivations and the costs of cybercrime

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New
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Year 11
OCR

The cost of cyber crime and hacker motivation

I can describe hacker motivations and the costs of cybercrime

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Cybercrime causes financial loss to individuals, businesses, and governments.
  2. Cyber attacks can stop essential services and impact public safety.
  3. Hackers are motivated by a range of factors.
  4. Cybercrime affects society as a whole, creating fear, reducing trust in digital systems and impacting mental well-being.

Keywords

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

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

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

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

Common misconception

All hackers are criminals trying to steal or destroy data.

Not all hackers are malicious. There are different types of hackers such as white hat ethical hackers, grey hat hackers who may break rules but not for personal gain and black hat hackers who are malicious hackers who exploit systems illegally.


To help you plan your year 11 computer science lesson on: The cost of cyber crime and hacker motivation, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use a short, engaging news video or real world examples of cybercrime (e.g. the WannaCry ransomware attack) to show the financial and emotional impact of cybercrime. Then, guide students in identifying who the victims were, what was lost, and what might have motivated the attacker.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the primary goal of cybersecurity?
to monitor social media accounts
to create computer viruses
Correct answer: to protect computer systems from threats
to increase internet speed
Q2.
Which of the following is an example of a cyberattack?
Correct answer: a ransomware attack
installing antivirus software
updating passwords
using a firewall
Q3.
What does a firewall do?
blocks access to the internet
detects hardware issues
increases computer speed
Correct answer: monitors and controls network communications
Q4.
Which of the following is an example of personal data?
a random password
Correct answer: your home address
a firewall setting
a computer’s IP address
Q5.
Why is training users important in cybersecurity?
Correct answer: It helps users identify and avoid security risks.
It speeds up network communication.
It reduces the cost of antivirus software.
It eliminates the need for firewalls.
Q6.
What can make computer systems more secure?
using only one type of protection
ignoring cybersecurity training
Correct answer: combining multiple protective measures
avoiding software updates

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Match each term with its definition:
Correct Answer:cybercrime,any illegal activity involving a computer or network

any illegal activity involving a computer or network

Correct Answer:hacker,someone who uses computer skills to access systems

someone who uses computer skills to access systems

Correct Answer:malicious,done on purpose to harm or damage

done on purpose to harm or damage

Correct Answer:society,a group of people following shared rules and values

a group of people following shared rules and values

Q2.
What is one financial cost of cybercrime?
Correct answer: monetary losses due to data breaches
increased trust in digital systems
improved public safety
reduced cybersecurity training costs
Q3.
Which of the following is an effect of cybercrime on society?
increased trust in digital systems
reduced fear of technology
Correct answer: creation of fear and reduced trust in digital systems
improved mental well-being
Q4.
What motivates hackers?
only financial gain
only the desire to cause harm
only the desire to fix problems
Correct answer: a range of factors, including curiosity, financial gain and activism
Q5.
Which type of hacker is considered ethical?
Correct answer: white hat
grey hat
black hat
Q6.
What does a grey hat hacker do?
They exploit systems for personal gain.
They fix problems ethically.
Correct answer: They break rules without causing harm.
They create malware.