The IT Facts

Between August and October of 1999, Jonathan James used his skills as a hacker to intercept data from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency or DTRA (a division of the US department Of defense). He had access to over 3,000 messages, usernames and passwords of DTRA employees. He also obtained source code for the International Space Station (to control temperature/humidity).

Nasa was forced to shut down computers for three weeks to fix the problem at an estimated cost of $41,000. He was ultimately sentenced when he was 16 - but it just goes to show what a 15-year old in South Florida, sitting with a computer and the right set of skills can do.