Teen hacking seen as casual activity

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.techworld.com/security/news/index.cfm?newsID=115913

By John E. Dunn
Techworld
15 May 2009

Casual hacking is as almost as established a part of teen life as 
downloading music to an iPod, a new survey of the age group has claimed.

According to Panda Security, we should take seriously the statistic it 
gathered from a survey of over 4,000 15 to 18 year-olds that nearly one 
in five of them have the knowledge to use ‘advanced' 
Internet-distributed hacking tools. Of that group, nearly a third 
claimed to have used them on at least one occasion.

Two thirds of the group said they had actually succeeded in hacking 
instant messaging or social network accounts of people known to them, 
with 20 percent admitting to having published embarrassing photographs 
or videos of acquaintances on the Internet.

Apart from mischief-making and competition with their peer group, the 
main motivation for trying out hacking appears to be curiosity, with 86 
percent citing that as the point from which their involvement started.

[...]

--
LayerOne 2009, Information Security for the discerning professional. 
May 23-24 2009 @ The Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, California 
Visit http://layerone.info for more information