Are Your Children Hacking... Your Email Account?

 

In a survey of 1000 children, released by Cumbria Constabulary and reported by CNN, more than a quarter (26%) said that they had tried ‘hacking’ (breaking into another person’s account on a computer) at some point.

Of those who had tried hacking, 27% had targeted friends accounts on Facebook, and 18% their friends email accounts.

Six percent of those surveyed even admitted to ‘hacking’ their parents’ email accounts! 

This is all despite 78% of those surveyed agreeing that it is ‘wrong’ to hack, and 53% admitting that they know it is illegal.

The most common venue for the activity was the children’s bedrooms, but respondents also admitted to hacking in internet cafes, the school computer room and at friends houses.

The most common reason given for hacking was for fun, but almost a quarter of respondents said that they intended to cause disruption, and 20% thought that they could generate an income from hacking.

Stuart Hyde from Cumbria Police says that the survey “illustrates the importance of keeping your passwords strong, secure and changing them regularly”, describing this type of hacking as “child’s play”.

Parents could also consider the use of PC Monitoring Software to keep a close eye on exactly what their children are doing on the PC in their bedroom.

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Image Credit: neoliminal on Flickr (CC)