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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

FGS! That bloody kid! He's hacked into the bloody school computers!

54 replies

TheZeeTeam · 14/03/2014 23:52

I got a call from my 13 year old son's school today. He was bored in French lab and decided to hack into the school system and close everyone else's computers. He's been given a 2 day in school suspension and a rest of the year ban on in school computers.

So, we've taken his computer here at home for a while and were thinking of inviting a local cop we know to talk to him about what happens to hackers in real life.

Any other ideas? How would you react to this kind of thing? Thank you!

OP posts:
MacBee · 15/03/2014 13:49

That is pretty impressive. I like Bearandcubs idea of getting to write up how he did it and how they could improve it. Might be a way to turn it around?

Branleuse · 15/03/2014 13:49

excellent, what a talented boy.
school should be grateful it was him and not an actual troublemaker

DealForTheKids · 15/03/2014 13:49

Sorry ignore my Q - missed the bit about the suspension/ban. Obvs they are less impressed!

WeeSleekit · 15/03/2014 14:36

Kleinzeit thanks for that. I am actually putting it into proportion. It is vandalism. It's the act itself not the clearing up afterwards or lack of. As I said, I just don't like the 'ooh isn't he clever and obviously under stimulated' vibe. It's sticking in my craw.

Pasithea · 15/03/2014 14:44

I would be so proud of him , yet I would ensure that it was channeled correctly.

I'm sure he is well aware of the consequences of hacking, talk to him about it.

I would much rather be looking at this than drugs, drink, teenage pregnancy and a host of other things.

Whyaremyfeetsofat · 15/03/2014 14:53

DS has done this-similar situation, he was bored and wanted to see if he could do it.

He escaped without punishment because he immediately told his HOY, who happens to also be the senior IT teacher - she accepted that he'd acted without malice and had flagged a gap in their security.

They tightened things up, and he was asked to try again - no joy that time, he was most annoyed to be beaten!

Original poster
TheZeeTeam · 15/03/2014 15:29

Thanks for all the ideas. Sinningsaint I guffawed at your post!

Anyway, he's taken it all on the chin. He readily admits he shouldn't have done it and said he won't do it again. He just wanted to know that he could, iygwim.

If only he put in as much effort on his bloody homework!! Confused

OP posts:
lukebsf1 · 15/03/2014 17:32

Crikey, this bring back memories.

Over my 5 years at secondary school me and a group of friends found out how to access and edit anyone else's files on the system (head of IT actually congratulated us on finding the hole in the system.), how to change user privilages on anyones account, how to beat the tutor control program and I once found a database containing all teachers phone numbers and addresses (surprisingly this was the easiest).

The only time I got in trouble was a lunchtimes detention for accidently locking everyone (admin included) out of a friends account. We had to go too IT support and get them to restore it off a backup.

All of this hacking looking back now probably wasn't a good idea, however it was pretty fun and we learnt a lot about computers in the process (I think this is why the head of IT didn't mind to much, he was so lax about it it was awesome).

We did have a plan for our last day of year 11 to hack the system that ran the powerpoints on some tv screens dotted around the school, however the security was too tight on that and we ran out of time.

Oh fun times.

Ubik1 · 15/03/2014 17:36

It is really serious.

Imagine he had been able to look at confidential data on classmates. You really need to make sure he understands that this is an offence.

EBearhug · 15/03/2014 17:47

I too am fairly impressed, but agree that punishment is appropriate. He needs to understand that doing such things "just to see if he can" is something that could get him into serious trouble another time.

I also think he should be channelled into an IT career - and yes, security is one of the growth areas at the moment. However, to get there, he needs to get his qualifications - my company wouldn't look at him without a degree and a clean DBS check. Getting into trouble for hacking would not be good for his future employment prospects (including if he wanted a job that wasn't in IT.)

There are a lot of things he could channel his "can I do this?" urges into - is his school involved in anything like First Lego League, Vex Robotics or Apps for Good? There are various other schemes doing similar sorts of things, too. If your school isn't currently involved, then if you asked them to ask their local StemNet contacts, then they should be able to advise what's most popular locally, and what support they can give, and help with making contacts and so on.

tiaramasu · 15/03/2014 17:53

He needs to be challenged into right directions instead of wrong ones.

Keep an eye that he doesnt spend lots of time alone in his room. Monitor his friends. Monitor him full stop.
He could either go far in life or end up in deep trouble with this.

babyheaves · 15/03/2014 22:54

I used to hack the computers at school, but this is well over 20 years ago now, when things were easier. He must be pretty good to be able to do it.

20 years later and I've got a good career in IT, so there's hope yet!

itstheyearzero · 15/03/2014 23:01

If he is interestedin a job in computer security (it sounds like he may have quite a talent in that area), tell him he will never get a job doing that if he carries on hacking, no IT company will employ a malicious hacker...

LynetteScavo · 15/03/2014 23:11

I would be really proud. Are you sure this isn't a stealth boast?

JumbledAndTumbled · 15/03/2014 23:27

Meh! I wouldn't be impressed until I knew exactly what he hacked into and how he did it. There is hacking and then there is hacking Wink IYSWIM

5madthings · 15/03/2014 23:36

My ds1 did this a few weeks ago. I was secretly impressed! But we made it clear it was not ok, and explained the legalities etc.

School gave him a day's internal exclusion and an after school detention ans had strong words. But as he is otherwise a model student they weren't too harsh on him.

MaryMotherOfCheeses · 15/03/2014 23:50

I'm sure some of the more complicated frauds rely on a great deal of skill and knowledge.

He's lucky the school aren't involving the police. Glad to hear they and you are imposing sanctions.

TheVictorian · 16/03/2014 00:26

encourage the development of his programming skills but to use them in a responsible way.

purpleroses · 16/03/2014 00:33

My DSS did the same a couple of years back when he was about 13. DP gave him a serious talking to about three trouble he could get in for that sort of thing and the jobs that might be closed to him with a conviction for hacking. It seems to have worked as he hasn't done it since, despite ongoing interest and computer skills building up.

mathanxiety · 16/03/2014 02:19

WeeSleekit, it's more like identifying an open safe door or a smoke alarm that isn't working, or finding out that 'meat' bought by the school for school lunches is actually recycled tyres than vandalism. If the school has paid to have its system set up by some vendor, then hopefully they will get their money back because they suck so badly at it that a 13 year old hacked into it.

mathanxiety · 16/03/2014 02:21

I am sure a 13 yo who can hack into a school system now would manage to have a clean record if the need arose in the future...

flow4 · 16/03/2014 09:42

You're right to take this seriously. Admiring hacking is like admiring the beauty of a really good bit of graffiti - and hacking carries a heavier sentence than criminal damage. There are plenty of clever, talented people with criminal records, since talent can be used for good or bad. But you know this. :)

It's good for teenagers to have passions, IMO. Rather than restricting his access to computers outside school, I'd be inclined to make sure he always has a positive coding/programming/other technical challenge to focus on.

whineaholic · 16/03/2014 09:57

Jeez, I also have a coding genius son but he's also intelligent to knwo that doing something like this is so unutterably stupid that it wouldn't cross his briliant mind.

What an incredibly stupid, arrogant and fucking thick thing to do. I wouldn't be admisring his cleverness - clever people aren't criminals who get caught.

You do realise that if that this will go down on his report and that he woudl fail a vetting for amy high profile cyber security career, don't you?

Ubik1 · 16/03/2014 10:11

He is clever, no doubt. But I would be instantly dismissed if I ever accessed personal data outwith my work processes even my own!

Also just because he has used a computer and been clever rather than vandalising the toilets doesn't mean it should be taken less seriously.

That said, as long as he understands it's a no, no in the future, no harm done.

chocoluvva · 16/03/2014 11:10

Wow! Telling the school straight away would have been the way to go after his efforts were successful. So in the event of another successful episode....

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