http://www.bocaratonnews.com/index.php?src=news&prid=15078 By Nicol Jenkins and John Johnston April 26, 2006 Boca teens feel cheated by fellow teen hackers, the Boca Raton News has learned. The most recent example of teen hacking came with the arrest of Jeff Yorston, an 18-year-old student at West Boca Raton Community High School. He was charged with felony computer fraud after police say he used employee passwords to change his friends' grades, give himself credit for classes he didn't take and erase suspensions from records. Police allege Yorston changed eight students' grades over the past two years, using computer IDs and passwords from four school district employees. Some local teens expressed anger that someone would try to take the easy way out while others have "worked hard" to get good grades. Others candidly admit admiration and envy of hackers. "He must be a pretty smart kid. If I was failing and had the skills, I'd do the same thing," said 18-year-old Teddy Rutledge. But Michael Langdon thinks hacking is unfair. "I've been working all semester for my grades and he just changes his," the 15-year-old said. Then, he joked, "I hoped he was my friend so he could change my grades." Opinions Vary The majority of the Boca teens interviewed by the Boca Raton News said gossip of changing grades hasn't circulated much around school. "I've never heard of it. And I would never be able to figure it out and none of my friends would be able to do it either," said Boca teen Lydia Rosenfeldt. "I think it's more the computer geeks and kids that have nothing better to do." Rosenfeldt, however, thought the hacking job was "pretty impressive." "If an 18-year-old can hack into the School Board system maybe the system isn't that up to par," she said. Fernando Rodriguez, 17, also believes the hacking incident was "random." "I don't think that 99 percent of the kids are capable of doing it at all. Most of the students are not smart enough," he said. Dan Verton, author of The Hacker Diaries: Confessions of Teenage Hackers [1], says that most younger computer intruders defy stereotypes. "The common denominator," says Verton, "is that hackers are both very smart and extremely bored. They're often smarter about computers than the teachers they're supposed to be learning from. For those teens, hacking provides a challenge and encourages creative thinking." Parental Pressure Some teens that spoke to the Boca Raton News think pressure from parents to have perfect grades may have been a motivator. "Going through the college process is stressful and sometimes parents put a lot of stress on children," said 18-year-old Danyelle Shapiro. "One of the motives could have been that he had a definite in to one of the colleges, so he didn't have to stress or worry about where he was going." On the other hand, Shapiro thinks hacking is wrong. "I don't think it's right and students don't think it's fair," she said. "Because when they change their grades, they could be taking my spot." Boca teens Edison Alexis and Makyra Nunes agree. "He's just messing up the whole system," Nunes said. Alexis added, "It could make our grades lower or higher." Most hackers are motivated by a need for constant stimulation and a sense of respect from their peers. For many, a "good" hack is one that gives a thrill of accomplishment and teaches something about the targeted system. Teens say, however, a bad hack isn't measured by the damage it does - it's measured by whether the hacker gets caught - and a further measure authorities say reflects a situational ethics, rather than moral view of the world. Some Signs Experts offer the following signs for parents: * A child who asks you to change ISPs might be into more than cybertalk. * Do you find programs on your computer that you don’t remember installing? * New hardware requests sometimes tip off a hacking interest. * How much time does your child spend using the computer each day? Hacking takes a lot of time. * Does your child use Quake or Linux?? And a child struggling academically might be tempted. John Johnston can be reached at 561-549-0833, or at jjohnston (at) bocanews.com; Nicol Jenkins can be reached at njenkins (at) bocanews.com or 561-549-0844. [1] http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0072223642/c4iorg _________________________________ InfoSec News v2.0 - Coming Soon! http://www.infosecnews.org
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