Script Kiddie; A Growing Threat!

Fundamentally many teenagers use hacking tools who have no idea about what they are doing. The script kiddies are known as idle, immature, and mainly not hackers. If you are a script kiddie who downloads any software for hacking, then it must be clear that won’t get any recognition or you won’t be praised in the hacking community for doing so.

The reason is that you have no idea of what you are doing. The same things go with script kiddie. They have no idea what they are doing.

It is now a common habit that anyone can download software from the internet. All of this requires a computer and access to the web. There are hundreds of hacking and security programs available online. All these programs are written by individuals who either possess a deep interest in it or are skilled programmers.

Most of this software is free to download, and you can also use them without any hurdle. Although all such things can surely help an individual who wants to learn about cybersecurity. But, it can cause problems whenever a script kiddie uses it as a tool for hacking.

Let’s find out more about script kiddie and how they risk the security of other users.

What Script Kiddie means?

A script kiddie is a person who does not have enough knowledge about programming and uses the current prevailing software to conduct an attack. A script kiddie will handle all such programs without proper knowledge, i.e., how they work and for what purpose they work.

Let’s suppose, a child whose age is 13 years gets his first ever computer system. The children who are interested in hacking watches a movie regarding it and later downloads a copy of Kali Linux. They also play with several programs while searching for various online tutorials.

Due to their insufficient experience, initially, they will perceive nothing than just an internet troll. However, at times they might even route towards cyber stalking and bullying. All such doings will include more immoral and evil activities.

Why is Script Kiddie becoming common?

The availability of open and free software creates a great risk for networks and websites. Many programs which aim for computer security and forensics are used to run free a distributed (DDoS) attack on a network or a website.

It can cause massive damage to revenue. A script kiddie without any hurdle can find a weakness to access the private systems using programs developed for pen testing. The danger sign is that if they have skill so, they can even install malware and can also steal data.

Script Kiddie and Social Engineering:

Social engineering is an attack which is known as one of the most severe threats by a script kiddie. The script kiddie doesn’t have enough knowledge to make software or to take advantage of the vulnerabilities. To repay they turn to social engineering. They do so to influence the targets to get access to their information.

Also, a script kiddie has fewer issues learning about HTML and web development. It is because both HTML and web development is much easier to learn than programming. A script kiddie also makes a malicious website or any portal to trick the user while entering the login information. In this way, a script kiddie is allowed to get access to the computer system.

The fake emails which contain malicious links are sent to large groups or targeted audience to a specific person. The process is often known as spear phishing. In this process, malware gets installed on to a computer without the prior knowledge of the target. The malware redirects them to a malicious site to collect private information and data.

Ways by which you can avoid being a Script Kiddie:

Following are some ways by which you can prevent from being a script kiddie:

1.      Learn programming language in detail:

The hackers usually prefer Python, C or C++ language. It is advisable to avoid all those languages that have a terrible reputation. Such as Visual Basic. Also, Batch and VBScript are technically not programming languages. They are shell scripts. The shell scripts have various limitations when contrasted to full feature programming languages.

2.      Don’t bully to hack people who anger you:

It simply means that you are an immature person. You must go for legitimate debates rather than just attempting to destroy someone. Even though you don’t win, then you will come out to look like a mature person.

3.      Don’t self- promote yourself:

It is precisely for a person who possesses a specific kind of hobby or a job. Although if you are good at something, then you must not tell everyone how much skill you are in a programming language, or what you do to achieve your targets and goals.

4.      Expand your interests and keep an active social life:

Although, it is not mainly related to script kiddie but generally to hackers. The hackers become incredibly obsessed with several different projects on the computers. They are so much involved on their computers that they completely ignore their friends and family to a great extent.

5.      Resist the use of tools without understanding the concepts:

Hacking tools play a significant role in this process. However, many devices are often investigated by the organizations they exploit and thus are not work for an extended period. Only if you have a proper understanding of the underlying concepts of programming and the operating system, then only you can create your exploits.

Final Thoughts:

To sum up, the script kiddie is not like cyber stalkers and trolls. They are more than what we assume them. They can be challenging at times. Moreover, they can cause some severe sort of damage because of their lack of experience.

They can also use social engineering as a tool and technique to influence the users and can even steal their data. The only best possible way to stay safe is to have proper knowledge, education about it and also cybersecurity.