I feel like 'hacking' has turned into paying off an insider to leak creds and ransom ware.,(reply>), Everybody is a leet haxxor, nowadays pmsl,(reply>), I believe in your theory, I remember some in the prime days of call of duty warzone hacks there were multiple hack providers. And one time a single provider just got there costumers instant ban after a while and others still works. Maybe they got outbid by rivals or they got caught. And that was before the anti cheat.,(reply>), @That Guy Leroy crypto is a newer form of paying people off, and getting paid however. Trading money for trade secrets definitely is easier now than before, but you are right that traditional social engineering is standard.,(reply>), social engineering is a big part of hacking though. but you make a good point nonetheless,(reply>), @TekExplorer Good ol' social engineering. Who needs code crackers when you can just fool the underpaid  systems security employee.