16 Signs Your Child is a Cyber Bikie on the Information Super Highway

Charity to help talented disadvantaged youths get infosec jobs

An turd of an article was evacuated from the bowels of the Liverpool Echo warning parents about that their children (as young as 8!) may be cyber criminals. Complete with a list of warning signs, reeking of Reefer Madness, this article would be simply yet another laughable click bait excretion, except for the massive disservice it does to the charity that is at the center.

.@WarringtonVince talks about a charity getting kids w/infosec skills access to jobs. This is the article: https://t.co/8cVCHcYcK0

— thaddeus e. grugq (@thegrugq) February 22, 2017

This charity is finding job opportunities for underprivileged children.
Vince Warrington has been helping find kids with cybersecurity talent and then:

we're trying to get small cyber companies to take on kids who have the talent but lack the opportunity

— Vince Warrington (@WarringtonVince) February 21, 2017

This is exactly the sort of work that needs to be done, especially given the severe skills shortage in cybersecurity. As Vince Warrington says,

we need to encourage them to learn, not hunt them down and prosecute them.

— Vince Warrington (@WarringtonVince) February 21, 2017

Too bloody right, mate.

These are the warning signs that your child might be suitable for a
challenging and high paying career in cybersecurity:

1. They spend most of their free time alone with their computer
2. They have few real friends, but talk extensively to online friends about computers
3. Teachers say the child has a keen interest in computers, almost to the exclusion of all other subjects
4. They’re online so much it affects their sleeping habits
5. They use the language of hacking, with terms such as ‘DdoS’ (pronounced D-dos), Dossing, pwnd, Doxing, Bots, Botnets, Cracking, Hash (refers to a type of encryption rather than cannabis), Keylogger, Lulz, Phishing, Spoof or Spoofing. Members of the Anonymous Hackivist group refer to their attacks as ‘Ops’
6. They refer to themselves and their friends as hackers or script kiddies
7. They have multiple social media profiles on one platform
8. They have multiple email addresses
9. They have an odd sounding nickname (famous ones include MafiaBoy and CyberZeist)
10. Their computer has a web browser called ToR (The Onion Router) which is used to access hacking forums on the dark web
11. Monitoring tools you’ve put on the computer might suddenly stop working
12. They can connect to the wifi of nearby houses (especially concerning if they have no legitimate reason to have the password)
13. They claim to be making money from online computer games (many hackers get started by trying to break computer games in order to exploit flaws in the game. They will then sell these ‘cheats’ online).
14. They might know more than they should about parents and siblings, not being able to resist hacking your email or social media
15. Your internet connection slows or goes off, as their hacker rivals try to take them down
16. Some circumstantial evidence suggests children with Autism and Asperger’s could be more vulnerable to becoming hackers.

If you notice any of these danger signs that your kid is talented at the
cybers, get in contact with Youth Fed and tell them that Vince Warrington sent you.

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