Children as young as eight years old are invited to Las Vegas this summer to learn that it’s cool to be a hacker — provided they don’t cheat, steal or commit other crimes.
The first-ever Defcon Kids conference in August is a chance for children between eight and 16 to learn the skills of computer hackers, as well as protect themselves against cyber attacks.
It will also be an opportunity for U.S. federal agents to size up tech-savvy youngsters who could form the next generation of digital crime-fighters.
Police, intelligence agents, military officers and the consultants working for them have long attended as well as recruited from Defcon, the world’s biggest gathering of hackers held in Las Vegas every summer.
This year, against a backdrop of high-profile cyber attacks on targets ranging from Google Inc to the International Monetary Fund, Defcon organizers are holding Defcon Kids on August 6 and 7 alongside the main conference.
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Is anyone else uncomfortable with the suggestion that US federal agents would be “sizing up” 8 year old children? That “sizing up” sounds an awful lot like “starting files on” to me.
Um. Wow. Yea…. I don’t think I would take any kids to this Con. Personally most intelligent hackerKid would kinda find this insulting. KIDS ALREADY GO TO CON’s!!! We don’t have to dumb it down for them. Bet you the makers of this Con don’t even have kids.
Is anyone else uncomfortable with the suggestion that US federal agents would be “sizing up” 8 year old children? That “sizing up” sounds an awful lot like “starting files on” to me.
Um. Wow. Yea…. I don’t think I would take any kids to this Con. Personally most intelligent hackerKid would kinda find this insulting. KIDS ALREADY GO TO CON’s!!! We don’t have to dumb it down for them. Bet you the makers of this Con don’t even have kids.
The next step is “we have this camp just for kids like you…”