Computer hacking is a hobby for Cumbrian children

As many as one in four of Cumbrian schoolchildren may have tried their hand at computer hacking, according to new research from security firm Tufin Technologies.

The survey involved 1,000 youngsters from London and another 100 from Cumbria.
Nearly half thought that hacking was fun and five per cent even thought they could make a career out of it!

Now before you imagine Cumbria’s 12-year-olds engaged in complex code to break into NASA’s computer network it is worth mentioning that hacking in this context includes simply guessing someone’s password.

In the survey 78 per cent knew accessing other people’s accounts on sites like Facebook was wrong – but that didn’t stop them.

The target of their attacks was usually Facebook accounts, which over a quarter of the hackers admitted to having a go at so if you see my Facebook account suddenly filled with updates about ponies and JLS you know what’s happened.

A friend’s email was the target of 18 per cent followed by online shopping sites (7%), parents’ email accounts (6%) and even their school’s website (5%).

A small number (3%) said that they had tried to access a corporate website.

Stuart Hyde, deputy chief constable of the Cumbria Police and the president of the Society for the Policing of Cyberspace, said: "What this survey starkly highlights is that hacking into personal online accounts, whether e-mail or Facebook, can be child's play if users do not protect their own passwords.

"It illustrates the importance of keeping your passwords strong, secure, and changing them regularly."

I will be returning to this subject for the Webwatch page next week in the News & Star so share your views and experiences below

By Nick Turner
Published: March 19, 2010

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Have your say

Interesting Nick

The problem is I'm not sure what this tells us.
How many of us have not tried a password on an open wireless network? Some would argue that's fair game if the owner has not been prudent about their network.

This then is the dilemma with a lot of social networking and other user accounts. The front door is there for all too see. It has to be for ease of use etc. There is then inevitably the temptation to try it. I don't think this is itself an indication that the 25% young people questioned are suddenly classiffiable as bad citizens, and as they describe it moreover was an act of fun rather than malice.

So what are the alternatives? More rigorous account management with other security steps akin to online banking. Or maybe we will see more ID synchronisation between accounts and real world ID chips or similar.

What do other people think? Whatever all aspects of increased security imply loss of privacy and increased opportunity for surveillance and control by those holding the keys.

Posted by Taylor Nuttall on 22 March 2010 at 19:06