Pranking in the PC Age

By Rocco Tool

Remember when, as a kid, you and your friends would soap a school’s windows or toilet paper a schoolmate’s trees? It was fun, relatively harmless, and if you got caught, you were banished to your bedroom for a week or two. That was the worst, because you were cut off from the telephone, your friends, and maybe the stereo.

Compare that to the current bedroom of an average teen. The Kaiser Family Foundation did a study indicating that 31% of kids ages 8-18 have a computer in the bedroom, and 20% have Internet access. Add to that their probable ownership of a cell phone, television, and CD/radio player, and their bedroom becomes a Command Center. Being sent to your bedroom is no longer a punishment.

What are the kids doing in those bedrooms after school? The University of Minnesota School of Public Health did a study that showed teenage girls spent about 13 hours a week on non-school related PC activities and boys, 15 hours. They’re not walking down the street anymore and getting exercise, or visiting friends. In fact, some of them might be taking down your employer’s network as part of a prank.

It seems many of the stories in the media concerning harmful viruses or network hackers involve more and more young people; people less than thirty years old. They can use messaging software to compare notes and coordinate attacks and their parents are none the wiser. The software can also be used to “bully” or threaten coworkers they dislike, if they’re not trying to send them a virus in their email. A lot of power can be at the hands of our teens and it’s their little secret. To illustrate that, ask yourself how many times you’ve had to ask your teen about a PC problem. They’re more than happy, and experienced, to fix your software problem in no time - and they’re chuckling about how little you know about computers.

What’s the first thing the neighbor of a hacker says in a news interview? “He’s such a quiet boy. We had no idea he was doing this.” It’s no wonder, because it can all be coordinated and controlled from the relative security of their bedrooms after school, when most kids have working parents. By the time the parents get home, Little Johnny is already done working on the next attack or virus and watching television in his room or talking on the cell phone.

Many kids use their Command Center to illegally download porn, movies, or music. We have all seen or heard about it being done by adults and coworkers, and we can only assume our teens are doing it, too, when we’re not around. Look at the news stories in the media: a grandmother is being charged with illegally downloading a movie, and it was done by a grandkid using her computer. Those are only the known cases that are reported on. What else are kids doing without active parental supervision?

Identity theft has become a pervasive issue, and it’s convenient for someone with a computer. Many young people have access to sensitive information such as credit card numbers, phone numbers, and social-security information, because they work in retail or customer-service capacities. Whole lists of this information can be traded or bought between school friends and even exchanged over the Internet with messaging or email. A wink and a smile is given with thoughts of being able to purchase new stereo speakers for their car or a new video game console. There’s no need to ask the parents for a teenager’s wants and “needs” at that point.

This article isn’t to scare you, or suggest that your child is a hacker. It’s a tip to become more involved in your child’s activities and understand the relative ease of data, personal information, and illegal media.

The next time you hear about a network under attack, just remember it might be that quiet kid who mows your lawn on the weekends.

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