Title: An Exploratory Analysis of the Characteristics of
Ideologically Motivated Cyberattacks
Authors: Holt, Thomas J., Jin
Ree Lee, Joshua D. Freilich, Steven M. Chermak, Johannes M. Bauer, Ruth
Shillair, and Arun Ross
Date: 26 Agust 2020
Journal: Terrorism and Political Violence
Abstract:
Web defacement
is a form of hacking that involves altering the content of a website, resulting
in repairs to the website code, loss of revenue, internal loss of productivity,
and reputational damage. Limited research has examined the frequency of web
defacements, the factors that distinguish them from other hacking motives, and
the extent to which the correlates mirror research on physical acts of
ideologically-motivated crime. The current study examined over 2.4 million web
defacements hosted in the U.S. from 2012 to 2016 to assess aspects of routine
activities theory associated with target selection and attack methods among
ideologically-motivated defacements. A binary logistic regression analysis
revealed that ideologically-motivated defacers were more likely to use unknown
vulnerabilities; engage in repeated attacks; target top-level domains linked to
foreign nations; domains ending in.edu; and homepages within websites. The
findings of this study suggest that the target selection process of
ideologically-motivated defacers are more purposive and designed to draw
attention to their cause, resembling target preferences of individuals who
engage in physical violence in support of an ideological agenda.
Source: https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2020.1777987