How old is the average hacker? What does a new research report suggest?

Orange Cyberdefense, as part of its Security Navigator 2026 threat landscape analysis, finds that cybercrime is largely driven by experienced adults rather than teenagers. The dataset catalogues 418 publicly announced law-enforcement cases between 2021 and mid-2025, and it claims to be the first structured international attempt to aggregate such actions. Offenders aged 35 to 44 represent the single largest group worldwide, accounting for 37% of identified individuals, while 30% fall into the 25 to 34 bracket.

Teenagers and older adults each make up fewer than 5% of cases. The data provider also notes limitations: it captures only publicly reported actions and may omit complete demographic details such as age, gender or nationality where unavailable.