Rising Youth Involvement in Cybercrime Highlights Need for Intervention Programs
The National Crime Agency (NCA) reports that the average age of referrals to its Cyber Choices program is 15 this financial year, with the youngest referral aged just seven. Across all ages, at least 105 referrals have been made to Cyber Choices, a program that seeks to redirect young potential offenders toward legitimate careers in cybersecurity.
Data from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) reveals that 57% of insider data breaches in schools between January 2022 and August 2024 were caused by students, underlining the growing scale of cyber incidents involving youth.
Recent significant UK cyber incidents include a £136 million loss for Marks & Spencer, a data breach at the Co-op affecting 6.5 million customers, a five-week disruption at Jaguar Land Rover with an estimated £1.9 billion economic impact, as well as cyber disruptions at Transport for London and a ransomware attack at Kido nursery.
Gaming plays a major role as a pathway into cybercrime, with 97% of children aged 8–17 active in gaming communities. Former teen hackers Ricky Handschumacher, now 32, and Joseph Harris, 28, both now residing in the U.S., attribute their early criminal activities to these circumstances. Handschumacher served 27 months of a four-year sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, while Harris served 16 months for multiple offenses including money laundering and identity theft.
Cybercriminal operations tend to be fluid and disorganized rather than structured groups, frequently linked to entities like The Community, Shiny Hunters, Lapsus$, Scattered Spider, and the loosely defined Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters.
Experts emphasize the absence of a single profile for teenage cybercriminals. Influencing factors include seeking social belonging and neurodiversity, with approximately 17% of people referred to cybercrime groups between 2017 and 2020 diagnosed with autism or autistic-like traits—significantly higher than the 1–2% observed in the general population.
Industry efforts to divert teens from cybercrime toward legitimate careers include initiatives such as The Hacking Games (THG), which explores non-traditional recruitment metrics and has plans for hacking eSports, and Cyber Choices. Bug bounty programs also offer pathways, awarding around $2,500 for critical vulnerabilities, although further details were incomplete.
