In the 1930s, US psychologist Abraham Maslow formulated a theory that according to which, everybody has a series of basic needs that must be covered in a certain order, so that until one has been covered, the next cannot be fulfilled.
These needs start with the most basic physiological needs, such as satisfying hunger and thirst, maintaining an adequate body temperature, etc. If one of these needs is not fulfilled, as it is a basic need, it will take priority over the rest.
The next level includes security and safety needs, while the third level of Maslow's pyramid includes social needs, affection, belonging and acceptance. These needs include friendship, love, social recognition, etc.
The forth and penultimate levels reflect esteem, recognition of the individual for the tasks carried out, such as work or study. The fifth level - tip of the pyramid - is self-actualisation. These are the highest needs, the needs that help the individual to find a meaning in life, and include philosophical and religious experiences.
As the Romans confirmed centuries before in their motto "primum vivere deinde philosophari" (live first, then, philosophise), this philosophy leaves the priorities of the individual very clear. But what, you may be asking, does this have to do with malware?
Spammers target several layers of the Maslow pyramid with a wide range of e-mail messages. If you stop for a moment to think about the history of spam, you will be able to see what messages users have received.
Levelling out
It is unlikely that someone would adopt a religion (or swop beliefs) because they have been bombarded by e-mail messages.
Jeremy Matthews is head of Panda Security's sub-Saharan operations.
One of the oldest spam messages was about home loans. Independent estate agents and stockbrokers saw spam as a good system for quickly earning commission. If clients carried out an operation and they had led the client to the corresponding Web site, they would earn commission by simply sending thousands of e-mails.
This type of spam clearly directly targets the second level of the hierarchy of needs, taking advantage of people's need for a home.
Other types of spam attacks that have been carried out for a long time, and will continue doing ad infinitum, are spam messages referring to lotteries or casinos, and those that invite users to find love.
These messages correspond to the third level in the Maslow pyramid and are the most appropriate for computer users. Why? Because on a global level, the Internet is still something available to comparatively few - and of those, it is likely that both the first and second level needs are already being met due to the relative affluence that is synonymous with Internet usage. Thus the third level of the Maslow pyramid is the first level that computer users might need to satisfy. For this reason, the majority of spam targets these levels.
The fourth level, which represents esteem, poses another example of classic spam. Spammers are only too aware of inextricable link between esteem and successful sexual relations. E-mail messages that promise pills for increasing sex drive or systems for enlarging sexual organs simply influence this need. As they are repetitive and insistent, you may conclude that they must be effective and that the senders of these messages hit the target - otherwise they would have stopped sending them a long time ago.
There are two levels missing from this structure: the most basic lowest level and the highest level. Obtaining the first level, which represents the basic survival needs, has not been targeted by spam. It has a logical explanation, as the physical survival of people (food and drink) is generally not offered directly via the Internet (with the exception of online grocery shopping).
The Internet is not going to provide water or food or air to breathe. People make sure they are fed and watered before they connect to the Internet, and they do so in environments in which they can breathe. Therefore, it does not make sense to send spam messages offering an incredible soft drink.
It does, however, make more sense if it is part of an advertising campaign, but in this case, the level of the pyramid it targets is not the basic level but one of the higher levels (it could fall into level three or four).
Perfect universe
In the years to come, the highest level - the tip of the pyramid - could also be targeted in messages in which spammers 'sell' sects, churches or philosophies of life. However, this is a sensitive element, and it is unlikely that someone would adopt a religion (or swop beliefs) because they have been bombarded by e-mail messages.
Yet the idea of the Internet is changing. The Web 2.0 revolution is creating many systems that can be compared to a better life.
Second Life, for example, is becoming a refuge for many users to realise their projects, or at least to interact with fellow humans in a different way to that conceived in the "real world".
There is a growing number of interactive systems, creating an ideal universe in which maybe nobody is who they are, only who they want to be.
Therefore, it is highly possible that in the near future spam aimed at social networks will appear, targeting the maximum level of the Maslow pyramid: achieving the final aims in life - even if it is in Second Life.
* Jeremy Matthews is head of Panda Security's sub-Saharan operations.
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