# Script kiddie > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Script_kiddie > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Script_kiddie.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Script_kiddie > Source revision: 1355885844 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Unskilled malicious hacker}} {{Computer hacking}} A '''script kiddie''', '''skript kiddie''', '''skiddie''', '''kiddie''', or '''skid''' is a [pejorative](/source/pejorative) for an unskilled individual who uses [malicious scripts or programs](/source/Malware) developed by others. ==Characteristics== The term script kiddie was first used in 1988.{{Cite thesis |last=Arifgoğlu |first=Saliha Figen |title=Information security, privacy issues and an application |date=1988 |publisher=Middle East Technical University |type=Master's thesis }} In Brazil, the term "lammer" arose in the late 1980s and is more commonly used instead.{{cite news |last=Nascimento |first=Anderson |title=O que é um Lammer? |date=5 July 2014 |website=Canaltech |language=pt-BR |url=https://canaltech.com.br/hacker/o-que-e-um-lammer |access-date=4 September 2025 |archive-date=4 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250904164831/https://canaltech.com.br/hacker/o-que-e-um-lammer |url-status=live}} In a Carnegie Mellon report prepared for the [US Department of Defense](/source/United_States_Department_of_Defense) in 2000, script kiddies are defined as
The more immature but unfortunately often just as dangerous exploiter of security lapses on the Internet. The typical script kiddy uses existing and frequently well known and easy-to-find techniques and programs or scripts to search for and exploit weaknesses in other computers on the Internet—often randomly and with little regard or perhaps even understanding of the potentially harmful consequences.{{cite report|publisher=[Carnegie Mellon University](/source/Carnegie_Mellon_University)|doi=10.1184/R1/6583673.v1|title=Security Quality Requirements Engineering (SQUARE) Methodology|author1=Mead, Nancy R.|author2=Hough, Eric|author3=Stehney, Theodore R.|date=31 October 2005|url=https://kilthub.cmu.edu/articles/journal_contribution/Security_Quality_Requirements_Engineering_SQUARE_Methodology/6583673/1}}
Script kiddies typically have at least one or more effective and easily downloadable programs capable of breaching computers and networks.{{cite news| last=Lemos| first=Robert| date=July 12, 2000 |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/script-kiddies-the-nets-cybergangs/ | work=[ZDNet](/source/ZDNet)| title=Script kiddies: The Net's cybergangs| access-date=2007-04-24}} Script kiddies vandalize websites both for the thrill of it and to increase their reputation among their peers. Some more malicious script kiddies have used virus toolkits to create and propagate the [Anna Kournikova](/source/Anna_Kournikova_(computer_virus)) and [Love Bug](/source/ILOVEYOU) viruses.{{cite web|author=Leyden, John|date=February 21, 2001|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2001/02/21/virus_toolkits_are_skiddie_menace/|title=Virus toolkits are s'kiddie menace |website=[The Register](/source/The_Register)}} Script kiddies lack, or are only developing, programming skills sufficient to understand the effects and side effects of their actions. As a result, they leave significant traces which lead to their detection, or directly attack companies which have detection and countermeasures already in place. For example, they may report crashes they cause while developing malware on their system, unintentionally sending their [source code](/source/source_code) to [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft).{{cite web|author=Taylor, Josh |date=August 26, 2010|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/hackers-accidentally-give-microsoft-their-code/ |title=Hackers accidentally give Microsoft their code|publisher=ZDNet.com.au|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120160424/http://www.zdnet.com.au/hackers-accidentally-give-microsoft-their-code-339305548.htm?omnRef=NULL |archive-date=January 20, 2012 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|author=Ms. Smith|date=August 28, 2010|url=http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/65571 |title=Error Reporting Oops: Microsoft, Meter Maids and Malicious Code|work=Privacy and Security Fanatic|publisher=[Network World](/source/Network_World)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816064753/https://www.csoonline.com/article/2227020/error-reporting-oops--microsoft--meter-maids-and-malicious-code.html|archive-date=August 16, 2022}} ==See also== * [Black hat hacker](/source/Black_hat_hacker) * [Computer security](/source/Computer_security) * [Exploit (computer security)](/source/Exploit_(computer_security)) * [Hacker (computer security)](/source/Hacker_(computer_security)) *[Hacktivism](/source/Hacktivism) * [Lamer](/source/Lamer) * [List of convicted computer criminals](/source/List_of_convicted_computer_criminals) * [Luser](/source/Luser) * [Noob](/source/Noob) * [Web shell](/source/Web_shell), a tool that script kiddies frequently use ==References== {{reflist|30em}} ==Further reading== * {{cite journal |author=Samuel Chng, Han Yu Lu, Ayush Kumar, David Yau |date=Mar 2022 |title=Hacker types, motivations and strategies: A comprehensive framework |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S245195882200001X |journal=Computers in Human Behavior Reports |volume=5 |issn=2451-9588 |pages= |doi= |access-date=27 Jan 2022}} * {{cite book | last = Tapeworm | title = 1337 h4x0r h4ndb00k | url = https://archive.org/details/1337h4x0rh4ndb000000tape | url-access = registration | year = 2005 | isbn = 0-672-32727-9 | publisher = Sams Publishing }} * ''The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders and Deceivers'' (2005) {{ISBN|978-0471782667}} ==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20180721180838/http://old.honeynet.org/papers/enemy Honeynet.org - Know Your Enemy (Essay about script kiddies)] preserved at [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive) * [https://deepminds.science/cracking-hacker-mindset/ Cracking the Hacker Mindset] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816063250/https://deepminds.science/cracking-hacker-mindset/ |date=2018-08-16 }} {{DEFAULTSORT:Script Kiddie}} Category:Hacking (computer security) Category:Hacker culture Category:Pejorative terms for people Category:Computer jargon --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Script kiddie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Script_kiddie) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Script_kiddie?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.