Hacktivism

Ok, here is another new word for your technology vocabulary and let’s hope it doesn’t become popular – Hacktivism. Hacktivism refers to terrorists using cybernetworks to attack targets including US government computer systems and using Internet fraud to raise money for their causes. According to some intelligence officials, terrorist groups have stepped up their efforts to recruit members with sophisticated knowledge of computer engineering and hacking with an eye to aggressive attacks against vital U.S. security systems. So far most of the efforts of these bad guys have involved taking down or defacing web sites who espouse beliefs that differ from their own such as Shiite, Jewish or Christian sites, but it looks like some of these efforts may have just be trial runs for doing other dastardly deeds online.

Children Online: The Impact of FaceBook

The site Children Online has a number of excellent articles, but one you should definitely read is The Impact of FaceBook on Our Students by educators Doug Fodeman and Marje Monroe, co-directors of Children Online. To download the article, go to the site and select Articles. The piece is also available in the Resources section of the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) site. While the article targets FaceBook, the ideas could be applied to any social networking site. Among the topics the authors discuss are: social networking takes a LOT of time; there is a false sense of privacy on social networks; there are 1000's of scams targeting teens on social networks; Spyware and Adware installations are very serious concerns; screens act as a moral disconnect for many of our students; students have very little knowledge about how much they are being marketed to, how their purchasing decisions and attitudes are being manipulated, how their personal information is used, and even how valuable that personal information is; teens are increasingly using social networks to avoid difficult face-to-face conversations; the meaning of friend is changing, which puts children and teens at risk; and our students are turning more and more to relationships online. Scary stuff indeed.

Teen Hackers Face Long Sentences For Fixing Grades

Kids have seen it in the movies - when kids hack into the school computer system and change their grades - and get away with it. But in real life, especially if you are a Senior and 18, such actions are seen as adult crimes with adult consequences. Two Seniors from Orange County , CA are finding that out after being accused of hacking into school computers to change grades and planting spyware on a district computer. One of them faces 69 felony charges, which could land him in prison for up to 38 years if he's convicted. No one laughs at these kinds of Senior pranks anymore.

MySpace Hacker Gets 110 Years

An Orlando Florida man has been sentenced to 110 years for hacking into young girls' MySpace web pages and harassing them or blackmailing them into sending nude pictures of themselves. By remotely controlling the computer he was able to flash messages across the screen and many of the girls felt they were being spied upon. He threatened to harm their family members, post nude pictures of them on the Web and, in one case, make a 17-year-old "the most well known girl at school" if they didn't do what he said, according to court records.  Make sure your kids know it's ok to report something unusual the computer seems to be doing or any kind of bullying they encounter.