Tech-savvy teenagers are scratching an anti-establishment itch over summer holidays with a rash of hack attacks on websites, says an internet security expert.
Daniel Ayers said a number of New Zealand websites had been defaced by hackers who stripped webpages of their original text to replace it with their own stamp.
Those hacked included the Cricket Wellington website and the Christchurch Star newspaper, along with lawyers, a school and a tech company which offered IT security services, he said.
The Herald also tracked through hacking monitoring sites the defacement of sites for a children's dance studio, a Thai restaurant, a provincial physiotherapist and a property management company.
Mr Ayers, who runs security company Elementary Solutions, said there was a seasonal increase in hacking which he believed tied in with time off for young people. "A lot of young people have very good IT skills."
