Ethical hacker explains how she hacked top-secret FBI files aged just 10 years old
While most kids on computers are accidentally charging 100 bucks to their parents' credit cards playing Roblox, this person managed to gain access to top-secret FBI files.
When Chris Kubecka was 10 years old, her school received a large grant that allowed them to have brand new computer systems installed in their library.
From a young age, Chris had a keen interest in technology and wasted no time making herself acquainted with her school's new PCs.
Speaking of when she learnt about the new tech, Chris shared: "I thought 'Hey, I love the library. I love computers. So let's explore!' and that's exactly what I did.
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"I explored so much, I found my way into the Department of Justice and the FBI, and I thought, this can't really be real."
She went on to share with LADbible Stories of her initial thoughts upon seeing the files: "It must be a game, because their passcode was only zero, zero, zero, zero. So I didn't think it was real, because it was too easy."
However, the 'mystery files' Chris stumbled upon were very much real and shared details about uncover FBI agents.
Chris went on to reveal just how she managed to hack into the FBI's system; she used a dial-up number on the modem to see whether the computer on the other end was connected. If they were, then-10-year-old Chris tried to communicate with it and see what was on it.
"In many cases back then there were no passwords or passcodes and you could play a game on someone else's computer, for example, or access recipe files, or whatever," Chris explained in the YouTube video.
Chris was able to access the files for over two weeks before FBI officers descended on her school library. She recalls having her hair in pigtails on the day in question.
Chris said it 'was not a nice encounter' with the officers.
"Obviously, when you're a kid and you see two grown adults who want to take you to a police station, you're like, 'Oh no...' You have no idea what's going to go on," she added.
"You've been taken from your safe place, which is in front of a computer in the library to someplace that's very cold."
For her punishment, Chris was handed an administrative order that banned her from most types of computers until she was 18.
She's now an ethical hacker and cyberwarfare expert.
Topics: Technology, News, Life, YouTube
Niamh Shackleton