15-Year-Old Arrested For Hacking 259 Companies

An anonymous reader writes "Austrian police have arrested a 15-year-old student suspected of hacking into 259 companies across the span of three months. Authorities allege the suspect scanned the Internet for vulnerabilities and bugs in websites and databases that he could then exploit. As soon as he was questioned, the young boy confessed to the attacks, according to Austria's Federal Criminal Police Office (BMI)."

Re:Not hacking

[Tarlus]

The teenager used various hacking tools widely available on the Internet, including software that helped him remain anonymous.

Nothing more than a script kiddie.

Re:Hacking is not a crime.

[kelemvor4]

It's a survival trait.

Right. Just like when I was a kid we used to say "skateboarding is not a crime".... until we got in trouble for it.

Re:Not hacking

[mcgrew]

Citation? because the AC is correct. I understand how muggles confuse nerd terms, but they've taken OUR word for modifying hardware or writing quick-and-dirty single-use code and we let the muggles mangle the meaning of OUR word! As someone already pointed out, he's not a "hacker", he's a script kiddie. The hackers wrote the code he used for his cyberburglary and cybervandalism.

I never thought I'd see the day when we would be acceptable, let alone the day normal people pretend to be us.

Hollywood would disagree

[betterunixthanunix]

If you actually read 2600 magazine, the scope of the articles fits in with the typical definition of a hacker: someone who likes to tinker with computers and other electronics. There is something of a bias toward computer security, but I have also seen articles about undocumented functions of electronics, technical information about various networking equipment, and so forth.

Hollywood, on the other hand, turned "hacker" into a code word for "computer criminal." No surprises there, given that Hollywood's view of computing is basically the antithesis of what the old school hackers had in mind. Hollywood thinks that computers should only be programmed by licensed professionals, who can be held accountable for the software they write (e.g. deCSS). In Hollywood's view of the world, if you buy a computer that has been programmed to stop you from running your own software (e.g. an iPhone, a PS3, etc.), then defeating those restrictions is criminal behavior -- and they got that codified in the law with the DMCA.

Re:Not hacking

[Tarlus]

"Script kiddie" doesn't mean the use of scripts, it's about the attitude embodied in the attack. If the tools are nothing but a means to an end (draining a bank account, blackmailing an executive, etc.) then you're looking at a script kiddie. The fact that tools were used, on its own is not enough to make that call.

I certainly have no qualm with this. That said, I hold that "script kiddie" perfectly fits the description of a 15-year-old who defaces websites and leaks their back-end to the Internet, with probably limited skills. I could be wrong, maybe he's a technical genius who just needs better guidance. Either way, that is a purely pernicious attitude, and while I agree that most web developers/admins deserve this kind of wake-up call, the kid had no greater motive than the enjoyment of stirring the pot under the shroud of anonymity. And that attitude deserves a derogatory name like "script kiddie."

Re:Not hacking

[Securityemo]

For defacement, "asshole" is a much better term regardless of skill level. Moral judgment should be separate from judgment of skill.