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A script kiddie or skiddie,[1] occasionally skid, script bunny,[2] script kitty,[3] script-running juvenile (SRJ) or similar, is a derogatory term used to describe those who use scripts or programs developed by others to attack computer systems and networks and deface websites.[4]
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In a Carnegie Mellon report prepared for the U.S. Department of Defense in 2005, script kiddies are defined as
"The more immature but unfortunately often just as dangerous exploiter of security lapses on the Internet. The typical script kiddy uses existing and frequently well known and easy-to-find techniques and programs or scripts to search for and exploit weaknesses in other computers on the Internet—often randomly and with little regard or perhaps even understanding of the potentially harmful consequences.[5]
Script kiddies have at their disposal a large number of effective, easily downloadable malicious programs capable of breaching computers and networks.[4] Such programs have included remote denial-of-service WinNuke,[6] trojans Back Orifice, NetBus, Sub7,[7] and ProRat, vulnerability scanner/injector Metasploit,[8] and often software intended for legitimate security auditing. A survey of college students in 2010, supported by UK's Association of Chief Police Officers, indicated a high level of interest in beginning hacking: "23% of 'uni' students have hacked into IT systems [...] 32% thought hacking was 'cool' [...] 28% considered it to be easy."[9]
Script kiddies vandalize websites both for the thrill of it and to increase their reputation among their peers.[4] Some more malicious script kiddies have used virus toolkits to create and propagate the Anna Kournikova and Love Bug viruses.[1] Script kiddies lack, or are only developing, coding skills sufficient to understand the effects and side effects of their work. As a result, they leave significant traces which lead to their detection, or directly attack companies which have detection and countermeasures already in place, or in recent cases, leave automatic crash reporting turned on.[10][11]
Script kiddies are often able to exploit vulnerable systems and strike with moderate success. Some of the most infamous examples include:
Calce, a.k.a. MafiaBoy, a high school student from Montreal, Canada, was arrested in 2000 for using downloaded tools to launch a series of highly publicized denial-of-service attacks against high-profile Web sites such as Yahoo!, Dell, eBay, and CNN. The financial impact was estimated at roughly $1.2 billion in global economic damages. Calce initially denied responsibility but later pled guilty to most of the charges brought against him.[12] His lawyer insisted his client had only run unsupervised tests to help design an improved firewall, whereas trial records indicated the youth showed no remorse and had expressed a desire to move to Italy for its lax computer crime laws.[13] The Montreal Youth Court sentenced him on September 12, 2001 to eight months of "open custody," one year of probation, restricted use of the Internet, and a small fine.[14]
In 1999, an unknown script kiddie used NetBus to discredit a law student studying at the Lund University in Sweden. Child pornography was uploaded onto his computer from an unidentified location. He was later acquitted of charges in 2004 when it was discovered that NetBus had been used to control his computer.[15]
Jeffrey Lee Parson, a.k.a. T33kid, was an 18-year-old high school student from Minnesota who was responsible for spreading a variant of the infamous Blaster computer worm. Parson only modified the original Blaster worm, already prevalent, using a hex editor to add his screen name to the existing executable, and then attached another existing backdoor, Lithium, and posted it on his website. By making this subtle modification, the new executable was considered a variant, and authorities were able to trace the name back to him. The program was part of a DoS attack against computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system. The attack took the form of a SYN flood which caused only minimal damage. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2005.[16][17]