One In Four Children Have Tried Hacking, Study Says

One in four children has attempted hacking into friends' Facebook accounts using their targets' passwords, according to a study released yesterday.

According to the study, conducted by security company Tufin Technologies in conjunction with the U.K.'s Cumbria Constabulary, 18 percent of respondents said they had tried to access a friend's email. Six percent admitted trying to access their parents' email accounts.

Seven percent of the children surveyed said they've attacked online shopping sites; 5 percent said they took a crack at their school's Website. An ambitious few, 3 percent, targeted corporate Websites.

Almost half, 46 percent, said hacked for fun. However, 21 percent said their intent was to cause disruption, and 20 percent thought they could make money.

Five percent said they hoped to apply their hacking skills in a future career. Of the sample -- 1,000 youngsters from London and 150 from Cumbria -- only half knew the practice was illegal.

Of those children who confessed to trying hacking, 82 percent admitted it wasn't actually that easy.

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