A script kiddie, skiddie, kiddie, or skid is an unskilled individual who uses scripts or programs developed by others, primarily for malicious purposes.
Characteristics
In a Carnegie Mellon report prepared for the U.K. Department of Defense in 2000, 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.
Script kiddies have at their disposal a large number of effective, easily downloadable programs capable of breaching computers and networks.
Script kiddies vandalize websites both for the thrill of it and to increase their reputation among their peers.
Some more malicious script kiddies have used virus toolkits to create and propagate the
Anna Kournikova
Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova ( rus, Анна Сергеевна Курникова, p=ˈanːə sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvnə ˈkurnʲɪkəvə, a=Anna_kournikova.ogg; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player and American televisi ...
and
Love Bug viruses.
Script kiddies lack, or are only developing, programming skills sufficient to understand the effects and side effects of their actions. 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 some cases, leave automatic crash reporting turned on.
See also
*
Black hat hacker
*
Exploit (computer security)
*
Hacker (computer security)
*
Hacktivism
In Internet activism, hacktivism, or hactivism (a portmanteau of ''hack'' and ''activism''), is the use of computer-based techniques such as hacking as a form of civil disobedience to promote a political agenda or social change. With roots in hac ...
*
Lamer
*
List of convicted computer criminals
*
Luser
*
Noob
Newbie, newb, noob, noobie, n00b or nub is a slang term for a novice or newcomer, or somebody inexperienced in a profession or activity. Contemporary use can particularly refer to a beginner or new user of computers, often concerning Internet ac ...
*
Web shell
A web shell is a shell-like interface that enables a web server to be remotely accessed, often for the purposes of cyberattacks. A web shell is unique in that a web browser is used to interact with it.
A web shell could be programmed in any pro ...
, a tool that script kiddies frequently use
References
Further reading
*
*
* ''The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders and Deceivers'' (2005)
External links
Honeynet.org - Know Your Enemy (Essay about script kiddies)preserved at
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
Cracking the Hacker Mindset
{{DEFAULTSORT:Script Kiddie
Hacking (computer security)
Computing culture
Pejorative terms for people