Quarter of an hour is all it takes to turn novices into hackers

COMPUTER hacking is so simple it takes a novice less than 15 minutes to learn the skills needed to break into an online account, a new study has revealed.

Experts have warned too little is being done to crack down on more than 20,000 tutorials, easily available on the web which provide a fast route to computer crime.

CPP Group took a group of volunteers, including a TV producer, a baker and a retired person, and taught them how to hack into online accounts in less than quarter of an hour.

More than seven million people have had online password-protected information accessed, including social media profiles, email, smartphones and PayPal accounts.

The volunteers, who signed a disclaimer promising not to use the skills they had learned in real life, simply followed a 14-minute classroom-style tutorial which is freely available online, downloading hacking software which allowed them to access login details and passwords for e-mail accounts, social networking sites and online shopping accounts within a matter of minutes.In the age of social media, 16 per cent say their social networking profiles have been hijacked and 10 per cent claim to have had money stolen or a loan taken out in their name.

Michael Lynch, identity fraud expert at CPP, said: "The recent Sony PlayStation3 security breach that saw a hacker gain access to the personal data of more than 100 million online gamers, has demonstrated the growing and widespread risk that hackers pose to consumers and businesses.

"It is important people are aware of the risks so they can take the necessary steps to protect their identities and manage any compromised data.

"As our live session has shown, these hacking skills can be applied within minutes, so it's crucial for consumers to take steps to protect themselves.

"With an increased demand for tighter online security, we're calling on the government to review access to these online hacking lessons and implement tighter regulation of internet hacking communities."

The technique taught in the live session is known as "man in the middle" hacking, and involves intercepting communications between two people or what an individual is viewing on the internet.

As the user logs onto their online account, their username and password appears on the hacker's desktop, allowing them to store the sensitive information and access the account - either immediately or at a later date.

Robert Chapman, chief executive of Firebrandtraining.co.uk, which carried out the tutorial, said: "The wide availability of free hacking tools is a real concern, and everyone is a target."These resources are only going to grow and become more advanced, meaning that organisations and individuals must take steps to protect themselves.

"It's imperative to keep anti-virus and firewall software up to date and change passwords to online accounts regularly."