Average age of British hackers is only 17... and they start at 13

THE typical age of British criminals behind some of the world’s most highprofile cyber attacks is just 17, according to new research.

Experts at the National Crime Agency (NCA) said they were shocked at the age of many of those wreaking havoc online.

The crime fighting agency, often touted as Britain’s answer to the FBI, is desperate to find ways to divert young minds away from the darker corners of the internet.

Officials have started making ‘cease and desist’ visits to the homes of those suspected of being on the fringes of internet crime. In the past four years, more than 80 people have been warned that if they continued their activities they faced arrest and prosecution. The figures were contained in an analysis of who is responsible for the rising tide of online attacks against the Government, companies and individuals. Mobile phone companies including Talk Talk, the NHS, Sony, Nintendo, 20th Century Fox and even the NCA itself have all been targeted.

Investigators went back to those who had been prosecuted, arrested or cautioned for computer misuses offences and asked them why they did it.

They discovered that many youngsters began exploring the dark side of the internet after using web-connected games consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation.

Some were as young as eight when they developed a passion for computers, with many spending every possible moment playing games. By the age of 13 or 14, they had started to adapt the software so they could cheat before moving on to more shadowy activities, including looking for website vulnerabilities, blackmailing companies, creating hacking toolkits to sell and breaking into online accounts.

Richard Jones, of the National Cyber Crime Unit, said: ‘There is great value in reaching young people before they ever become involved in cyber crime, when their skills can still be a force for good.

‘The aim of this assessment has been to understand the pathways offenders take and identify the most effective intervention points. That can be as simple as highlighting opportunities in coding and programming, or jobs in the gaming and cyber industries.’