Hacking in some form (essentially being a script kiddie) isn't that difficult for a kid, especially if there is something to gain - bragging rights at least. W

Hacking in some form (essentially being a script kiddie) isn't that difficult for a kid, especially if there is something to gain - bragging rights at least. We got internet when I was 9. By the time I was 11 in the early 2000s, I was a full-blown script kiddie, scouring astalavista.box.sk for tools and scripts to hack anything that I could. I'd also hang on IRC. I thought hacking was the coolest thing ever, and took any opportunity to access anything forbidden or leave a silly signature anywhere. I didn't discriminate. It didn't matter that I had zero connection with any of these websites and services I 'hacked', I thought I was so cool. Most of the stuff I did was simply following the instructions / tutorials, mostly Google dorking for strings in php files and using documented exploits. I never succeeded in any sort of targeted attack, and I lived in such a shithole that nothing important was online at the time, anyway. All of this was extremely low impact. The only thing even remotely impressive about any of this was that I initially had very poor control of English. I was using a primitive, non-phraseological dictionary all the time, and somehow understood enough to actually apply some of the tutorials I read. People don't give kids enough credit for their determination and persistence, and kids have so much of free time to learn whatever they set their mind to.