Economic Incentives and Perceptions as Critical Factors for Understanding Insider Hacking Behavior

The objective of this research is to investigate the influence of interest in white hat capabilities, income levels, and perceptions of being apprehended on the willingness to violate privacy regulations as measured by the amount of money required to violate medical privacy. The research model was developed by drawing on the economics of crime literature, prospect theory and the emerging Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation Behavior model. This study involved 523 individuals on the cusp of entering the workforce, which places them all as potential insider hackers according to zero trust models of insider behavior. Despite many subjects believing there is a high probability of being caught, they could still be incentivized to violate HIPAA laws. Approximately 306 (or 58%) of the survey participants indicated a price, ranging from zero dollars to over $10 million, that they deemed acceptable for violating HIPAA laws. Income levels, white hat hacking capabilities, monetary incentives to commit a crime, and the perceived probability of being apprehended were statistically significant predictors of the amount of money required to violate HIPAA laws.