Re:The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)
by jakejake on Monday June 02, 2014 @02:09AM
(#7832127)
It's a kinda strange thing. Before the digital age kids like myself just did not have access to many things that could get them into so much trouble. I caused my share of mischief when I was a kid, just like most boys will do. Probably the worst tools I had at my disposal were eggs or snowballs to throw at cars. The opportunity for me to reach out from my bedroom and cause damage to a multi-national corporation or government just was not available to me or anybody at the time. It's hard to imagine what I could have done as a kid to even get the attention of the FBI, let alone have them trying to trap me in a sting operation. Kids today have a lot more ways to do some serious damage and get themselves into real trouble.
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Re:The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)
by atmosx on Monday June 02, 2014 @03:24AM
(#7832277)
I wonder what % of HN people never made anything illegal, like:
* Hack into a remove computer server/friends PC.
* Broke a WEP/WPA wifi network to gain access
* Performed MiTM to see what kind of data can sniff
* Performed brute-force dictionary attack without being asked.
* Shared illegal digital material with friends
I feel it's about ~ 3%.
Re:The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)
by SixSigma on Monday June 02, 2014 @06:45AM
(#7832775)
Add :
* Scraped website and used the data for some other opportunity
Re:The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)
by psykovsky on Monday June 02, 2014 @06:32AM
(#7832735)
I sense optimism in that number...
Re:The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)
by esrauch on Monday June 02, 2014 @12:16PM
(#7834244)
I would think the first 4 together is probably a bit more than 3%, but the last one alone is probably >40%
Re:The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)
by icebraining on Monday June 02, 2014 @04:04AM
(#7832386)
You probably didn't have access because you didn't look for it. A kid with the right mindset and a copy of the Anarchist Cookbook or similar could cause a lot of panic and draw a lot of attention.
The difference is not access, it's the inherently nonviolent nature of digital. It's easier to get a kid to care about not hurting others than about not hurting an abstract legal entity like a company.
Re:The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)
by CJefferson on Monday June 02, 2014 @08:26AM
(#7833077)
Before the Internet, how would I ever had acquired a copy of the anarchists cookbook in rural England? I did know the book existed, and I am sure I would have tried some of it out if I could have got a copy.
Re:The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)
by jakejake on Friday June 06, 2014 @02:58AM
(#7856529)
It's probably true there were ways to get yourself into real trouble before the Internet. I guess phone phreaking or calling in threats and such. Still it seems like there's a lot more temptation out there for a kid to cause mischief now that the entire world is wired together.