We're a part of the, "Too much time and not enough money" generation, so we learn to beat the systems.
I remember the time my parents put a lock on my computer. It would automatically log me out or stop my internet after a certain number of hours. I spent four days sulking about it, and then hacked in, disabled it, uninstalled it, and broke the program disk on the fifth. My finest hour.
Should Kids Be Attending a Hacker Conference?
Christine Lusey
2011/08/10 19:00:00
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232 votes
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The annual DefCon hacker conference in Las Vegas had some new attendees this year. Very new.
For the first time in the 18-year history of the event, kids and teens aged 8 to 16 were invited to attend.
DefCon celebrates all things hacking: lock-picking, code-cracking, security-defeating - with an eye toward learning and sharing what they know, rather than encouraging or engaging in actual illegal behavior. These are the White Hat hackers.
Kids (who were required to have a parent with them) competed in lock-picking contests and games to find security holes or vulnerabilities in software.
One 10-year-old, only known as CyFi, earned raves for figuring out that by changing the clock on her phone, she could skip ahead in time in some mobile games. And by disconnecting the WiFi, she could defeat the game's attempt to set the time right.
More than ever before, companies and agencies are recruiting hackers or, at the very least, trying to learn all they can from them. According to The Washington Post, representatives from The Department of Defense, NASA, the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security all attended the convention this year.
For the first time in the 18-year history of the event, kids and teens aged 8 to 16 were invited to attend.
DefCon celebrates all things hacking: lock-picking, code-cracking, security-defeating - with an eye toward learning and sharing what they know, rather than encouraging or engaging in actual illegal behavior. These are the White Hat hackers.
Kids (who were required to have a parent with them) competed in lock-picking contests and games to find security holes or vulnerabilities in software.
One 10-year-old, only known as CyFi, earned raves for figuring out that by changing the clock on her phone, she could skip ahead in time in some mobile games. And by disconnecting the WiFi, she could defeat the game's attempt to set the time right.
More than ever before, companies and agencies are recruiting hackers or, at the very least, trying to learn all they can from them. According to The Washington Post, representatives from The Department of Defense, NASA, the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security all attended the convention this year.
Read More: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2011/08/09/young-hacke...
Top Opinion
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Yuki ~ ♦Lion King of PHÆT♦ 2011/08/10 19:48:21
and only an idiot would actually use that knowledge to steal or something
If a child can crack your companies security system..........................
I would much rather expose my children to the skills of dedicated White Hats, where they can learn the proper respect for the art, rather than them becoming malicious script kiddies or those Anonymous/LulzSec dark side destructive bastards.
In the end, it's all about respect.
Also keep in mind that our only real rival in cyberspace these days, China, is systematically and formally training their children to hack US systems in grade school as a state-sponsored national security initiative. They're raising an entire generation of millions of kids who have been taught nothing but hate for the US, coupled with the requisite skills to utterly destroy us. In that light, why aren't we making digital security training mandatory in our schools as well. As is, we are defenseless, and I don't like that idea.
No convicts. The people attending this conference are the people you should be praising, as they are the ones defending people like you against the hackers you despise so much. They are the White Hats protecting you from the Black Hats.
And from their perspective, all your imposing physical security is already basically useless and defeated, because the above comment proves you have an internet-connected machine in your home.....a big, bright neon digital welcome mat. Stealing your identity info is worth immeasurably more to a malicious hacker than anything you could possibly have in your home.
There are also the implications of your elaborate physical security, mainly that you must have something quite valuable and worth stealing to go to such James Bond-like overboard measures to protect it; congratulations, you've managed to make yourself a juicy target for criminals, while simultaneously alienating those trying to stop them from attacking you.
You'd be much safer using your super-house as a decoy, a distraction, and burying anything valuable you have in the backyard, as no one would look there....
Few - VERY few - hackers are so ignorant! Script kiddies, yes, but hackers, no.
What does this teach kids??? Its cool to have no respect for yourself or others and do what ever you want regardless of the legality or consequences.
They learn to use what would be criminal skills in malicious hands for the good of stopping those who would act with malice.
There is no such thing as 'good' or 'bad' as far as knowledge and skills are concerned. What matters is the context of their use. This conference is for the good guys, and as such children should be exposed to it because it teaches them those skills come with responsibility.
OR, you could tell your kids "NO!" which will of course inspire them to defy you, then they'll inevitably find a place to fit in, such as a criminal hacking enterprise like WikiLeaks, Anonymous, LulzSec, AntiSec, or any other of a dozen malicious groups, all because they never saw anyone use their skills for good. Why deny kids positive role models? There is no reason.