Children committing crimes using computers is a real problem and should not be disregarded. See the last portion of "Reflections on Trusting Trust".<p>That said, this webpage is dangerous and misleading for a lot of reasons, but I'll try to focus on the problems that are actionable:<p>1. The "warning signs" the article enumerates are almost certainly not significantly correlated with youth who commit cyber crimes. In other words, the warning signs are probably just some made up bullshit someone with arbitrary biases came up with and put online. (<i>Even if</i> it accurately describes <i>every</i> youth convicted of cyber crime, that still doesn't mean that it's remotely likely to be correlated with cyber crime.)<p>In my mind, there's no material difference between teenagers who bully geeks and the author of this article -- both are identifying people who are different from them and then bullying them for being different. The only difference is that the author of this article has fooled themselves into thinking they have a justifiable excuse for painting with a broad brush.<p>2. The focus on computer security in the alternatives is misplaced. Especially considering the "warning signs". Far better to find the kid some bright mentors who match them intellectually <i>in any field</i> than to focus arbitrarily on computers -- much less computer security! A socially isolated student who's teaching themselves to program is not likely to do much more than roll their eyes if you explain to them that they could spend their life configuring firewalls and installing AV.
Warning signs of cyber crime<p><pre><code> * Is your child spending all of their time online?
* Are they interested in coding? Do they have independent learning material on computing?
* Do they have irregular sleeping patterns?
* Do they get an income from their online activities, do you know why and how?
* Are they resistant when asked what they do online?
* Do they use the full data allowance on the home broadband?
* Have they become more socially isolated?</code></pre>
Related, "The average age of suspected cyber-attackers has dropped dramatically to just 17, the National Crime Agency has said."<p>"We know that simply criminalising young people cannot be the solution to this and so the campaign seeks to help motivate children to use their skills more positively."<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/dec/08/average-age-of-cyber-attack-suspects-drops-to-17" rel="nofollow">http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/dec/08/average-ag...</a>
So every hardcore gamer is displaying the 'warning signs of cyber crime' now? Because let's face it, most of those signs also apply pretty well to die hard gamers or video game fans, especially ones who discuss them on internet forums and watch videos on Youtube.<p>But hey, keep buying into the crap about the average cyber criminal being your typical 'geek' or gamer type.
This article, IMHO, represents the fact that, globally, we're approaching Peak Government.<p>As government takes up more and more resources and provides less and less value, it also falls out of touch with reality, and then we get to this point...
Apologies for veering slightly off-topic and the pedantry.<p>Is 'cyber' actually used by technically competent folk now?
It's been cropping up alot with the 'cyber' crime, 'cyber' attacks happening in 'cyber' space recently, needing improved 'cyber' security skills.<p>Usually the term's reserved for either mass-media outlets, or people trying to scare you.
This reminds me of another article<p><a href="http://www.adequacy.org/stories/2001.12.2.42056.2147.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.adequacy.org/stories/2001.12.2.42056.2147.html</a>