Most teen hackers more curious than criminal

["Don Blumenthal" <dmblumenthal () gmail com>]

> Most teen hackers more curious than criminal
> By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2007-08-19-teen-hackers_N.htm
> SAN FRANCISCO - A large minority of teenagers commit computer crimes
> such as hacking and software piracy, but it's done mostly out of
> curiosity and a hunger for excitement rather than wanting to cause
> trouble, a psychologist reported over the weekend.
>
> "Parents are not savvy enough yet" to realize what's going on, said
> psychologist Shirley McGuire of the University of San Francisco.
> "They are becoming more savvy, but they're not doing it fast enough."
>
> She reported on an anonymous survey of about 4,800 San Diego area
> high school students at the American Psychological Association
> conference. Among findings:
>
> *38% said they copied software without permission.
>
> *18% went into someone's computer or website without permission, and
> 16% took material.
>
> *13% changed a computer system, file program or website without permission.
>
> Boys were far more likely than girls to hack and illegally copy
> software. But only about one in 10 teens said they did it to cause
> trouble or make money. Many more cited learning about computers or
> because "it is exciting and challenging" as their main motives.
>
> Still, these actions are illegal and nothing to shrug off, says
> Nancy Willard, director of the Center for Safe and Responsible
> Internet Use in Eugene, Ore. Innocent, techie children can stumble
> into "online support communities" that function like cyber gangs,
> she says. "They hack together, and they one-up each other."
>
> Teen hackers "invade privacy just to see if they can do it," Willard
> says. "They cause a lot of financial loss for companies and school
> districts." She says schools should do much more to channel
> techno-gifted teens into positive paths. For example, they can be
> paired with mentors in the industry or linked to community colleges
> that offer mind-expanding but legal computer activities.
>
> Not everyone says the problem is that serious. "In the vast majority
> of instances, it's not a crime because it's not done with criminal
> intent," says Steve Jones, a communications researcher who
> specializes in new media at the University of Illinois in Chicago.
> "Parents need to educate teens about copyrights and what's dangerous
> to do online, and then they need to show some trust for their kids.
>
> "This is rather typical adolescent behavior that has now transferred
> itself to the online realm."

Huh? It's not a crime because there was no criminal intent??????????

Don

-- 
Don M. Blumenthal
Technology, Law, and Policy
dmblumenthal () gmail com
www.donblumenthal.com
734-997-0764        202-431-0874 (c)
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