A recent report from internet and mobile security provider AVG highlights the growing number of minors – including pre-teens – writing malicious software and getting involved in online theft.

Two recruiters in the digital world tell Recruiter that in time, that younger generation may be going some way to solving the digital skills gap.

AVG’s Community Powered Threat Report Q4 2012 shows that some of today’s children have been writing malicious software [malware] to steal fellow gamers’ log-in details.

This can be the sort of code chief technology officer at AVG Yuval Ben Itzhak describes as “easy to learn for beginners and simply to deploy” – and he adds that while the firm believes young hackers are mainly motivated by thrill rather than financial gains, such crime can lead on to more serious crime.

Stefan Ciecierski, chief executive officer of digital recruitment group Nakama, tells Recruiter: “Hacking is cool,” before clarifying: “That’s not my personal opinion but it is the impression I have from the movies and TV. Being a digital geek is somehow cooler than a computer programmer ever was in the 80s.” 

The talent knock-on effect is already in place, he says, noting: “We certainly find many more first jobbers looking for work on the technology side and for many of those the line between work and play can be blurred.”

Steve Buckley, the co-founder of specialist job board Hacker Jobs, agrees: “The allure of programming is increasing now that societies perception is shifting from the bespectacled nerd to the cool, wealthy geek.”

But he believes that the potential of this new generation may take a while to come to fruition. He says: “Unfortunately, I believe we'll have to wait for the kids born in the 80s and 90s to take power before we see the government react appropriately to ensure that kids get the best possible foundation in tech education, and it's only then that the skills gap that is currently dominating the jobs market will be addressed.

“The current generation of politicians and decision makers in this country didn't grow up ‘modding’ levels in Minecraft. They didn't have three or four separate devices that all connected to the internet. They didn't spend half their lives interacting via social networks or immersed in MMORPGs [massively multiplayer online role-playing games].”

“From a recruitment point of view if those teenage hackers get a good degree and decide to play on the right side of the fence I can tell you they are of great interest to online businesses as valuable hires,” Ciecierski comments, saying that those interested in a career might find themselves able to “work in many different markets almost anywhere in the world”.

Ciecierski concludes: “I remember as kids daring each other to go shoplifting. Everyone I know who did that grew out of it. Will that be the case for today's cyberkids? Who knows, but I do know companies all over the world who are not leaving it to chance.”