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Quebec Boy Hacked Government And Sold Information To Anonymous... For Video Games

This 12-Year-Old Rained Cyber-Mayhem On The Government

A 12-year-old boy reportedly rained cyber-mayhem on government and police websites during last year's Quebec student uprising -- in exchange for video games.

The boy, a fifth grader from the Montreal area, traded the information he dug up to the hacker group Anonymous, shutting down websites and causing $50,000 in damages, QMI Agency reports.

Appearing in court last week with his father -- and dressed in his school uniform -- the boy pleaded guilty to three hacking charges, the news agency adds.

Gizmodo reports the boy used administrator credentials to access websites belonging to Montreal police, the Quebec Institute of Public Health, and the National Assembly of Quebec.

"He saw it as a challenge, he was only 12 years old," his lawyer claims. "'There was no political purpose."

He will be sentenced next month.

"It's easy to hack, but do not go there too much, they will track you down," the boy reportedly warned others at the time.

It isn't the first time a minor has laid waste to Canadian websites. In 2000, a Montreal hacker named Michael Calce launched an epic cyber-attack under the pseudonym 'Mafiaboy'.

Calce, who was 15 at the time, ground several major sites -- including CNN, Yahoo, EBay and Amazon -- to a halt, Computerworld reports.

And caused millions in damages.

Then Calce went on to write a book about it.

"I realize what I did was wrong, and I feel bad about it and I think I can help people with it by sharing my experiences," Calce told CBC News, "Hopefully, there's not going to be a Mafiaboy 2.0."

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