My 13 year-old cousin hacked into his school's system. What advice would you give?
r11t: The best reference I can recommend would be Eric Raymond's "How To Become A Hacker" : http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html The key point the article points out is that "The basic difference is this: hackers build things, crackers break them." The teenage thrill of breaking into computer systems is certainly exciting but perhaps he will be even more enthusiastic about learning to be curious about how things work under the hood, how to do clever things via programming and how to develop a true hacker mind set. Of course all this without the risk of getting into trouble like breaking into his school's computer system. I am glad to know that he did not choose to do any major damage but nevertheless I hope he grows up to become a fine hacker and understand the true meaning of being one. Good luck and great effort on your behalf to try to advise him in the correct path!