Increasing numbers of teenagers are starting to dabble in hi-tech crime, say |
experts. Computer security professionals say many net forums are populated by |
teenagers swapping credit card numbers, phishing kits and hacking tips. The |
poor technical skills of many young hackers mean they are very likely to get |
caught and arrested. Youth workers add that any teenager getting a criminal |
record would be putting their future at stake. |
"I see kids of 11 and 12 sharing credit card details and asking for hacks," says |
Chris Boyd, director of malware research at FaceTime Security. Many teenagers |
get into low level crime by looking for exploits and cracks for their favourite |
computer games. Communities and forums spring up where people start to swap |
malicious programs, knowledge and sometimes stolen data. Some also look for |
exploits and virus codes that can be run against the social networking sites |
popular with many young people. Some then try to peddle or use the details or |
accounts they net in this way. |
Mr Boyd spends a lot of time tracking down the creators of the nuisance |
programs written to exploit users of social networking sites and the culprit often is |
a teenager. Chris Boyd says that many of the young criminal hackers are |
undermined by their desire to win recognition for their exploits. Many post videos |
of what they have done on sites such as YouTube and sign on with the same |
alias used to hack a site, run a phishing attack or write a web exploit. Others |
share photos or other details of their life on other sites making it easy for |
computer security experts to track them down and get them shut down. |
Mathew Bevan, a reformed hacker who was arrested as a teenager and then |
acquitted for his online exploits, says it is no surprise that young people are |
indulging in online crime. "It is about the thrill and power to prove they are |
somebody," he says. That also explains why they [id:95541] an alias or online |
identity even when they know it to be compromised. |
Graham Robb, a board member of the Youth Justice Board, says teenagers need |
to appreciate the risks they take by falling into hi-tech crime. "If they get a police |
record it stays with them. A Criminal Record Bureau check will throw that up and |
it could prevent access to jobs." Also, he adds, young people should consider the |
impact of actions carried out via the net and a computer. "Are they going to be |
able to live with the fact that they caused harm to other people?" he says. |
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news.bbc.co.uk, 2011 |