Teen Started Hacking

[ncdontknowwhattodo]

I'm a bit lost. I have 3 DS, my middle child - 13 - has started hacking. He is learning the skills through various online gaming forums.

From looking at what he's doing and speaking with him it all seems to be game related: taking down rival gamer servers, through DDOS, take their credentials etc. He has even developed hacking tools he is selling to other gamers.

As far as I can tell (and from speaking with him) he hasn't done anything serious like attack real sites, steal credit cards etc....but I'm obviously worried about where his activities might lead and the fact I have no idea who he is speaking with online.

I don't want to ban him from tech altogether as he has a real talent that would be good to nurture in a positive way.

I can't monitor everything he does (I'm single parent, work long hours, any technology controls I put in place he finds a way around) but I'm really keen to put measures in place to ensure he doesn't get drawn into more serious activities.

Has anyone been through similar or have any advice?

shameless bump...

I have absolutely no helpful advice, for which I apologise, unless you can somehow convince him to 'use his powers for good' and start funnelling him into MI6 or something similar...

I think it is a positive that he is talking about what he is doing with you and that he is learning the practicalities of network.security etc, do you ask him how if he were the service owner what he would do to prevent his attacks being successful, to gauge how sophisticated his hacking actually is and to ask him about the potential impacts to himself (getting in trouble, or potentially restricting or enabling future employment) and those whose sites he is impacting. That would be my starting point anyway.

What's the difference between a 'rival gamer server' and a 'real site'? I don't know much about this but a quick google says that DDOS attacks are illegal in the UK. I'd be even more concerned now that people are paying him to help them take down other people's sites. I really think you need to get on top of this and make sure what he's doing is actually legal.

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/?view=article&id=243:ddos-attacks-are-illegal&catid=2#:~:text=The%20Computer%20Misuse%20Act%201990,are%20criminal%20under%20UK%20law.

https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/525-cyber-choices-hacking-it-legal-parents-guardians-carers/file

Try to steer him into more ethical hacking or cyber security this could be a good career choice for him. As another poster said DDOS attacks are illegal and a lot of these forums he will be accessing to find this information are extremely dodgy.

I think you need to take this very very seriously. He's very young so has presumably been introduced and guided through this world by older people online - that sounds like a form of grooming. He's engaging in illegal activity in your home as a minor - where does that leave you standing from a legal and responsibility point of view? Forget the idea of talent, what actual postives for his future does he get from mixing with older people online to do illegal things? Are there any kind-of specialist support services for kids getting into this stuff? I'd be looking into that urgently.

Apologies if that seems catastrophic but that is the thought process I would go through if it was my child. I agree with the pp that it is good henis talking through it with you though.

DS was a bit into this (used to develop cheats on games to knock other players off etc) and then got into cyber security/ethical hacking. Does he do Computer Science at school? His teacher might have some ideas of some age appropriate cyber security training which could use his abilities in legal ways but also be challenging.

Agree that steering him towards ethical hacking is a good move. He sounds talented and motivated so it's not about stopping him so much as channelling that energy in a positive direction.

Everyone I know in cyber security was a hacker