International cybercrime, as portrayed by the movies and mass media, is a high-stakes game of shadowy government agencies and state-sponsored hacking groups. Hollywood casting will wheel out a char…
I don’t know enough about this kid from the article to argue that he’s not highly skilled.
It’s still a weird tangent though and reductive to blame the school system, when he doesn’t even present any evidence that this was caused by some failing of the schools. Maybe you’ve been following this and can provide more context, but this context wasn’t presented in the article.
he doesn’t even present any evidence that this was caused by some failing of the schools
The cynicism I’ve gained over the last 7 years tells me that there’s an agenda being pushed there.
EDIT: To elaborate. I’m not arguing whether “the agenda” the author has is good or bad, but it’s off-base. If you’re reporting on a story, you really should leave your feelings about the story at the door. It’s not like the story isn’t interesting enough! If this were an op-ed, then that’s one thing. But the “sensationalist reporting aside” and “we can’t help feeling sad” and then pointing to… the UK’s education system… it’s clearly not objective. You’re not presenting facts and facts alone, you’re presenting facts with your opinions mixed in.
Just look at what the author invited into his comment section with that:
Not enough male teachers for these lads to confide in and see as role models.
Blatant sexism.
Yes, keep male teachers who are not woke away from kids.
Groomer accusations.
If I had to guess I would pick serious mental illness rather than a failing by the schools.
You’re not presenting facts and facts alone, you’re presenting facts with your opinions mixed in.
Yes, that’s because they aren’t doing any reporting. It’s commentary. That’s the point of it. The actual news they’re commentating is this article by the BBC. It’s Hackaday, not Reuters.
I suspect our schools are failing us if we don’t even know how journalism works.
I don’t think it’s an agenda, I think it’s just poorly delivered. The facts are:
Teen hacks corps using a Fire Stick.
Teen has done something novel with proprietary hardware.
I think it’s safe to assume that he’s intelligent and creative based on those two things. With proper guidance from the right kinds of people (including parents), someone like that could eventually put those talents to use on someone’s Red Team, or working with an intelligence agency, rather than doing something illegal to stretch their wings (fuck big corporations, but the law is what it is).
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to note that his talents will be wasted by grinding him down in the justice system.
Agreed on all. I just wish that Hackaday presented those points as well as you did, and followed up on them with, for example, criminal justice experts, psychiatrists, educators, etc. The article has none of these, it doesn’t gather supporting evidence to make an informed opinion, it basically reads like a very long tweet.
You caught a lot of downvotes on the original post, but it is reductive. I pretty sane conclusion but educational support probably isn’t the only culprit, issues like this are multilayered and not so cut and dry.
Never thought I’d see a worse usage of downvotes than on Reddit, but here we are lol. The amount of knee jerk opinions, reactions, and downvoting is surprising
Yes, but kids that age like video games and will push boundaries. So I doubt even the best education could have prevented that.
To hackers hacking is far more fun than anything some school/uni/employer can come up with (until they’re old enough and realize a criminal record isn’t worth it).
There are career hackers. Pen testing and white hat hacking is very much a thing. I’ve been in software for two decades, some of the most talented people I’ve worked with had similar back stories.
How so? Someone needs to hire this kid, he sounds like he has a lot of potential.
I don’t know enough about this kid from the article to argue that he’s not highly skilled.
It’s still a weird tangent though and reductive to blame the school system, when he doesn’t even present any evidence that this was caused by some failing of the schools. Maybe you’ve been following this and can provide more context, but this context wasn’t presented in the article.
The cynicism I’ve gained over the last 7 years tells me that there’s an agenda being pushed there.
EDIT: To elaborate. I’m not arguing whether “the agenda” the author has is good or bad, but it’s off-base. If you’re reporting on a story, you really should leave your feelings about the story at the door. It’s not like the story isn’t interesting enough! If this were an op-ed, then that’s one thing. But the “sensationalist reporting aside” and “we can’t help feeling sad” and then pointing to… the UK’s education system… it’s clearly not objective. You’re not presenting facts and facts alone, you’re presenting facts with your opinions mixed in.
Just look at what the author invited into his comment section with that:
Blatant sexism.
Groomer accusations.
Disparaging of neurodivergence (neurodiversity? IDK if that’s still the right term). Hacking into companies and bragging about it is something even neurotypical teenagers do.
Anti-education screed.
Do I even need to say anything about this one?
Yes, that’s because they aren’t doing any reporting. It’s commentary. That’s the point of it. The actual news they’re commentating is this article by the BBC. It’s Hackaday, not Reuters.
I suspect our schools are failing us if we don’t even know how journalism works.
I don’t think it’s an agenda, I think it’s just poorly delivered. The facts are:
Teen hacks corps using a Fire Stick.
Teen has done something novel with proprietary hardware.
I think it’s safe to assume that he’s intelligent and creative based on those two things. With proper guidance from the right kinds of people (including parents), someone like that could eventually put those talents to use on someone’s Red Team, or working with an intelligence agency, rather than doing something illegal to stretch their wings (fuck big corporations, but the law is what it is).
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to note that his talents will be wasted by grinding him down in the justice system.
Agreed on all. I just wish that Hackaday presented those points as well as you did, and followed up on them with, for example, criminal justice experts, psychiatrists, educators, etc. The article has none of these, it doesn’t gather supporting evidence to make an informed opinion, it basically reads like a very long tweet.
This article might help shine some light on some questions.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66549159
You caught a lot of downvotes on the original post, but it is reductive. I pretty sane conclusion but educational support probably isn’t the only culprit, issues like this are multilayered and not so cut and dry.
Never thought I’d see a worse usage of downvotes than on Reddit, but here we are lol. The amount of knee jerk opinions, reactions, and downvoting is surprising
Yes, but kids that age like video games and will push boundaries. So I doubt even the best education could have prevented that.
To hackers hacking is far more fun than anything some school/uni/employer can come up with (until they’re old enough and realize a criminal record isn’t worth it).
There are career hackers. Pen testing and white hat hacking is very much a thing. I’ve been in software for two decades, some of the most talented people I’ve worked with had similar back stories.
I wouldn’t trust this kid with my wifi password.
I’d trust him to recover my WiFi password after I’ve forgotten it
Technically he’s an adult. Still has a childlike underdeveloped prefrontal cortex mind you. Not very smart.