Mother reveals 8-year-old ordered AK-47 from dark web, says he started hacking at a young age | #hacking | #cybersecurity | #infosec | #comptia | #pentest | #hacker

By Ankita Chakravarti: There can be many hazards of exposing your children to the world of the internet but there is only very little parents can do to stop them. A woman named Barbara Gemen, hails from Netherlands, shared a shocking story about her 8-year-old son’s involvement in cybercrime. He secretly bought dangerous things, including an AK-47, from the dark web without her knowlege. Barbara currently works as human resources expert.

As per her interview on Euronews, It all started when her son spent a lot of time on the computer and began hacking at a very young age. He started ordering things online without paying for them. At first, it was small stuff like “free” pizza, but it got worse over time.

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To hide his actions, he used strange code phrases like “Pitt is coming to our place” whenever his mom entered the room. He communicated with bad people through online games and even helped them with illegal money transactions.

One day, an AK-47 gun was delivered to their home, and that’s when Barbara realized the seriousness of the situation. Her son had managed to order the gun and have it shipped from Poland to Bulgaria to avoid detection.

Barbara was shocked and decided to take action immediately. She handed over the gun to the local police, but no legal action was taken against her son. However, she noticed a change in his behavior. He became stressed and would stay up at night working with an international group of hackers.

When Barbara sought advice from law enforcement, they dismissed her concerns as exaggeration. Feeling determined, she decided to learn about cybersecurity herself and now volunteers as a Cyber Special with the Dutch Police.

Barbara believes that the ease of access to laptops and cell phones makes it simple for kids to engage in hacking. She thinks it’s essential to prevent young people from getting involved in cybercrime because they often don’t know what’s legal and what’s illegal.

It’s a troubling story that highlights the importance of parental awareness and education about online activities for children. Cybersecurity is indeed a significant concern, and efforts to guide and protect our youth in the digital world are crucial.