What are Script Kiddies?
Script kiddies are teenagers who use readily available tools written by experienced hackers to deface websites or break into computer systems, usually done for peer recognition and attention. Script kiddies have little or no personal knowledge of hacking and rely on other people’s programs or scripts, hence the name, “script kiddie.” They are not considered true hackers and are looked down upon in the hacking community as giving hackers a bad name by engaging in immature forms of vandalism. A popular pastime for script kiddies involves gaining access to website administration privileges in order to “tag” sites with electronic graffiti for bragging rights. This practice of vandalism is known as “Web cracking.” Bored teens build reputations among friends by tagging tens or even hundreds of sites. In addition to website defacement, script kiddies also use hacking tools to compromise remote computers. The process begins by using automated programs that scan computers connected to the Inter
Working in the IT industry, I have come across real security experts and self proclaimed “security experts”, who are often nothing more than “script kiddies”. Script kiddies are basically “hacker wannabes” who use programs and/or scripts written by other people (real hackers) without understanding how the programs and/or scripts actually work. Being a script kiddie requires almost no effort because anyone can easily obtain the latest OS and application exploits from security related web sites or forums. In other words, any bored college student who has a connection to the Internet and ample time to spare is capable of being a real threat to your system. Just imagine the number of enemies you have without ever offending anyone. However, most System Administrators/Engineers perceive script kiddies as nothing more than annoying, but harmless since they lack the technical knowledge to inflict any real damage. This perception cannot be more wrong because there are so many of them out there
A script kiddie is one of those annoying little kids (or adults in some cases) that get ahold of an exploit program that someone else has writen (such as SubSeven, Legion, ect.), then uses it and tells the world that he or she is “bad-ass yo”, when they really have no idea what is going on behind the scenes of the program. They push a button and connect to a shared computer but couldn’t tell ya the protocol or the port used.
