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Add to FavoritesThe question of whether or not kids today are more or less likely to hack then they would have been ten years ago is an interesting query. Kids today have an increased ability to hack, but strangely enough they don't really need to learn much skill in order to do it. The bigger question is whether or not they are more likely to engage in hacking then they would have been ten years ago.
In that respect, I'd say yes, kids today are more likely to learn "how to" hack than they would have a decade ago simply because its easier and the payoffs are higher in terms of notoriety or financial gain.
Computer technology has grown significantly over the last ten years and with this growth has come a lot of change. Hacking used to be something only a computer expert typically could accomplish because they had the knowledge needed in order to compromise or infiltrate another's system. Today this is all changed.
A decade ago a hacker needed to possess a more comprehensive knowledge of programming. Before ten years ago days you had to understand DOS commands in order to complete ordinary tasks, never mind learn the skills needed to try and hack into someone else's computer system.
In those primitive days of networking there were some kids who took the time to acquire a strong foundation of programming, but the majority of kids did not pursue this knowledge. As a result, except for a small population of youth, they were less likely to engage in the activity of hacking. It wasn't until roughly the mid 1990s this began to change.
As progress in technology continued to expand, today most of that wisdom is no longer necessary. Today's youth don't have to rely upon having acquired knowledge of programming languages because nowadays it is all too easy! This ease combined with the right motivation and temptation makes kids more likely to engage in hacking.
If a kid knows how to do an Internet search and understand the fundamentals of computing they can find tools to help them hack. The mechanisms they need to hack are out on the Internet, all it takes is a matter of knowing what to look for and how to use this information.
There is no more need to understand the inner-workings of DOS, everything is created with drag and drop capabilities through graphic user interface (GUI). Today in order to hack, in most cases, someone else has already done all the work. All the hopeful hacker has to do is have to do is use the tools provided.
Hacking is fueled by motivation and temptation. The way today's society relies on computers offers the motivation and provides the notoriety and financial temptations. Ten years ago most companies were not reliant upon technology infrastructures in order to survive the way they are today.
Activities such as banking and shopping online were not commonplace. When a company gets hacked, more people are impacted and it becomes more newsworthy, this provides the notoriety. The financial incentive is all too obvious; there is a lot of money stored electronically.
How does this all relate to whether or not kids are more likely to hack today rather than ten years ago? It indirectly relates to the abilities today's kids have in terms of knowing how to hack. Granted, while today you can download "kiddie scripts" off of the web, this doesn't really account for having any true ability to hack, but unfortunately the tools are all out there for them to use in order to commit a hack.
I think the next generation will likely have less understanding of how to hack, and it will more or less be dependent upon the motivation to do so. That incentive and temptation are there and so are the tools to do it. Kids, or people of any age, today are less likely to learn the programming skills to hack but more likely to engage in the practice itself.
Learn more about this author, Leigh Goessl.
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Like the Shortwave radio or the CB and Hamm Radios of the past, when computers were limited to a select few 'Enthusiasts' there was no end to what was being tested or 'hacked'. Since then, the CB and Shortwave radio, and many other novelties have faded away. In contrast, the computer has become as much a part of many cultures as a telephone. It serves countless purposes, most of which are second nature to operate for the average 5th grader. Obviously the definition of 'hack' is subject to debate by itself. Nevertheless, I offer my humble opinion in hopes that some single minded, paranoid, crackpot that has allowed his or her brain to deteriorate due to lack of exercise, will choose an open minded perspective; if only for a few moments.<?xml:nam espace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microso ft-com:office:office " />
Why do 'hackers' hack? Why do certain children take apart the electronic toys that their Uncle Mike buys them? It is curiosity coupled with the challenge of being told NO that encourages a young mind to wander into uncharted or forbidden territories. Considering percentages, more children probably hack computers in present day for no other reason than there are more computers. But the same percentage of children have the inclination to 'hack', to find out what makes things 'tick', to do what they are told is not acceptable or not possible. When parents insist their children do not smoke or drink alcohol, what makes the majority of children test the challenge? We are human, and to be human means to explore boundaries. Boundaries are adjusted by cultures, and countries, and companies, and families every day. We learn through the necessary process of not accepting everything we see or hear as fact. To be human is to apply touch and feel and smell and perform comparative analysis, assess risk, weigh the consequences against the reward and make decisions. Hacking is a human instinct. Children are driven almost purely by instinct. They are the least mentally developed of our species and therefore we apply environmental variables to enforce or dissuade their instincts.
Lately, we have not been monitoring our children's instinctive behavior. We have not been encouraging them to behave a certain way or not to behave certain other ways. As a society, we have grown lazy regarding morality and exploration and too often accept things as they are. We are teaching our children not to hack. We are teaching them not to hack computers, not to hack their environment, not to push the envelope and test for inertia. Albeit through a lack of instruction, we are instructing are children to accept their environment as it is and cease to grow, cease to develop their minds, and cease to explore opportunities for improvement.
It is without question that children are less likely to hack computers today than in the past. But it is anything but a cause for celebration. It is a symbol of decay. As technology evolves, so must the human mind. That evolution is fostered by Hacking'.
Learn more about this author, PCMystro.
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