As much as we may not want to admit it, technology rules the world. Everything we have ever wanted to know is now quite literally in the palm of our hands. Our kids will never know the struggle of heading to the library to search the stacks for information for a research paper. They don’t understand the woes of waiting weeks for a mail-order package to arrive. And they don’t ever have to speak to anyone on the phone when texting is so much easier. But they can evidently order a gun online with no questions asked.
These tech-savvy kids seem to have things easier than many of their parents. But in addition to a more efficient world, they are also exposed to darker things than many of us moms and dads at their age. Some of them are even using their hacking skills to become sophisticated cybercriminals before they can legally drive, including one child whose mom says he was able to purchase an AK-47 on the dark web.
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It can happen much sooner than you think.
According to a report by Euronews, kids are getting into trouble a lot younger than you might imagine. Barbara Gemen told the outlet her son was a hacker before he hit double digits. He began hacking when he was 8 years old and used his skills to order a firearm online.
“I think he spent a month trying to figure out how to order the gun and to get it delivered to our home. [From] Poland to Bulgaria, and you can make sure it passes through customs without being checked. He opened it and he was really, really excited that he managed to get a gun delivered to our home. I was completely shocked. I immediately decided to do things differently at home,” she said.
Gemen's son was actually working with a group of international hackers.
The mother realized her son was changing. He spent a tremendous amount of time at the computer, and it was strange. “He started to wake up at night to sit behind a computer and he was really stressed. And that’s when we find out he was working with a group of international hackers,” she explained.
The concerned mother contacted the police, who she claimed were quick to dismiss her. So she decided to train herself in cybersecurity and now works as a Cyber Special Volunteer with the Dutch Police.
“It’s so easy these days because a lot of kids have laptops, mobile phones, and basically you can do a hack with a few clicks. It’s a quite big issue to prevent young people from hacking. They often don’t know what’s legal or what’s illegal,” she told Euronews.
Criminals are using video games to get to kids.
It might not be so shocking that these criminals are using video games to lure kids into becoming cybercriminals. They find vulnerable young people and encourage them to participate in cyberattacks. Mike Jones is a security researcher and mentors young people identified as potential cyber criminals. He told Euronews these criminals groom kids to get them to help.
“The first thing is to gain trust,” he said. “Find things about them that they enjoy. So once you gain that information, you gain that trust … Those children that usually are into the technology and the gaming are usually not the in-crowd in school.”
Alexander Urbelis, cybersecurity lawyer at Crowell & Moring LLP, said that gamers are a great target because gaming and hacking can use similar skills.
“You want to try to figure out if you can generate some kind of advantage or identify some kind of vulnerability in the system that will increase the coins or the currency that you have. There’s motivation between generating some kind of advantage in the game and being able to hack,” he explained.
Kids sometimes need help understanding the consequences.
We all know that kids don’t have the ability to understand the immense consequences of what they deem to be minor actions. Psychologist and game designer Dr. Kelli Dunlap told Euronews that kids just don’t see how dangerous hacking can be because their brains aren’t developed.
“Teenagers are not thinking about the harm they could cause … Children and teenagers are amazing,” she said. “Their brains are just developing rapidly and their ability to learn new things and adapt is really amazing to watch.”
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Others say the danger is a rush for some kids.
Some experts argue that teenage hackers understand what they are doing, which is part of the rush. Global Research and Analysis expert Christian Funk thinks teens understand the consequences and want to prove themselves.
“Hacking has kind of a mythical aura to it. It has a bit of a cool factor. That is, of course, also due to a lot of series and movies. How hackers are being portrayed,” Funk said.
There is a lot to prove when you are an adolescent, and some young people feel better about themselves when they get away with something sneaky, or even illegal.
“That actually attracts a lot of young people that might want to prove their ego or boost their ego, might want to acquire maybe some bragging rights. I think that’s just something that comes with it,” he explained.
