In high school (over 2 decades ago), I figured out how to crack the school security software (and obtain its master password, thank you Windows swap file!) and after doing so, I installed a keylogger on the school library computers. I got access to dozens of email accounts, instant messaging accounts, etc. I'm self-taught all the way. In fact I dropped out of high school junior year with a 1.76 GPA. I knew what was right and wrong, but not yet mature enough to fully grasp the harm it does. I don't think any sort of ethics teachings would've changed anything.
Similar story here, though at a smaller scale, and with a better educational experience. I remember distinctly talking to my mom about the ethics of hacking, and my viewpoint at the time was - in the parlance of kids today - cringe.
I’m of the minority view that kids shouldn’t reach legal majority until age 25. High school and college age kids really don’t have fully developed mental capabilities, and we should recognize that.
That's a myth based on a study that stopped studying brain development at age 25. If they'd kept going, we might have learned that the brain is constantly changing, and 25 is no more or less arbitrary than 18, 16, or 48.
> It could be a misunderstanding, stemming from brain scanning studies which looked at subjects up to the age of 25. But that’s like saying sprinters can only run 100 metres at most after watching the 100m final at the Olympics. The limit is imposed by the context, not biology.
Possibly, and I appreciate the fact checking, but it’s not the only bit of data. Renting cars is usually prohibited or prohibitively expensive under the age of 25 because of actuary tables. Kids below that age are more likely to have road accidents. It’s also about peak body fitness, which starts to go down hill there (although you usually don’t feel it until your 30’s).
My lesson came while ARP poisoning, when I saw that a teacher was using their social security number as their password.
Suddenly I realized even dumping passwords was an invasion of privacy, even if I didn't use them. And that passwords should never contain sensitive information!
