Young Students Referred to Online Crime Unit for Hacking Incidents

Fifty young individuals, including children of primary school age, have been referred to a specialized police team that addresses online crime across the East Midlands. The East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) stated that these referrals stemmed from the actions of some youngsters who had hacked school websites to post inappropriate messages or alter their grades. Law enforcement is now educating schoolchildren throughout the region, some as young as nine, about the dangers of hacking and online fraud. The BBC observed a class at Carlton Junior Academy in Nottinghamshire, where nine and 10-year-old children were encouraged to utilize technology safely. These referrals, which commenced in January 2020, have been processed through a national initiative called Cyber Choices. Children and their parents or carers receive individualized support designed to encourage them to apply their computer skills constructively. Kirsty Jackson, a Cyber Choices officer at Nottinghamshire Police, noted that children sometimes target school websites to show off. “Rude messages put on, that’s reputational damage,” she said. “We’ve seen files get deleted, grades get changed.” In the most severe instance, a teenager from Leicestershire was sentenced to two years in custody for what a judge described as “cyber-terrorism.” The boy was only 15 when he gained unauthorized control of the personal computers of several leading US intelligence officials from a device in his bedroom. Ms. Jackson indicated that police aim to prevent children from being drawn into “really serious” online crime. “If malicious code is created and used by criminals, the impact could be huge,” she said. “That could be used to target government, charities, businesses.” Several thousand primary and secondary schoolchildren across the region have now participated in Cyber Choices lessons. Nine-year-old Lexie, from Carlton Junior Academy, stated that she had learned hacking was “really bad.” “If you hack people, you get into trouble and you might get arrested,” she said. Head teacher Sharon Wood observed that some children became “very tech-savvy” after spending considerable time online during the coronavirus pandemic. “They were being drawn into the dark web,” she said. “There is a huge potential for the children to be sucked into something that they really shouldn’t be sucked into, not understanding the consequences.” Ms. Wood expressed concern about children becoming ensnared in phishing (sending fraudulent messages) or spending their parents’ money online without authorization. She concluded, “Our children are very curious around the technology they use and they are brilliant at using the technology.” She further stated, “So we’re trying to prepare them for a very safe future online, both in school and at home.”