Adverse Childhood Experiences, Age of Onset, and Motivations for Active Hackers

Research on hacking has documented diverse motivations including curiosity, financial gain, ideology, and revenge, yet limited attention has been devoted to understanding what predicts these different motivational patterns. Revenge-motivated hacking, targeting entities perceived as deserving harm, represents a particularly concerning form of cybercrime, but the factors that drive individuals toward this orientation remain unexplored. This study examined whether Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), conceptualized as a form of chronic strain, predict hacking motivations among 238 active hackers with verified website defacements recruited through Zone-H, an international archive of hacking activity. Results indicated that ACEs were differentially associated with hacking motivations: higher ACE scores predicted greater revenge motivation and lower curiosity motivation, while associations with financial and ideological motivations were also observed. The predicted probability of consistent revenge motivation more than doubled from zero ACEs to ten ACEs. However, no significant association emerged between ACEs and age of hacking onset, contrary to patterns in traditional crime research. These findings suggest that childhood adversity shapes the motivational dimensions of hacking, why individuals engage in this behavior, rather than its developmental timing. Implications for understanding heterogeneity within hacking populations and developing appropriately targeted interventions are discussed.