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Script Kiddie

By Tony Bradley, CISSP-ISSAP, About.com

Definition: Script kiddie is a derogatory term used by hackers or crackers to describe novice hackers. The term is derived from the fact that these novice hackers tend to rely on existing scripts, tools and exploits to create their attacks. They may not have any specific knowledge of computer systems or why or how their hack attempts work. They may unleash harmful or destructive attacks without even realizing it. Script kiddies tend to scan and attack large blocks of the Internet rather than targeting a specific computer and generally don't have any goal in mind aside from experimenting with tools to see how much chaos they can create.

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