“If you see any of these on their computer, or have a child you think is hacking, let us know so we can give advice and engage them into positive diversions,” intones the offending poster, forwarded to us by a reader and which we reproduce below in all its glory.<\/p>\n
![\"West](\"https:\/\/regmedia.co.uk\/2020\/02\/14\/wmrocu_silly_infosec_poster.jpg\" "\\"West")
<\/a><\/p>\nWest Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit’s silly poster. Click to enlarge<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Observant readers will have spotted the National Crime Agency logo alongside that of the WMROCU. Strangely enough, the NCA was not at all impressed to have been linked with this obvious bollocks.<\/p>\n
\nGood evening – the NCA was not involved in the production or release of this poster.<\/p>\n
There are many tools which tech-savvy children use, some of which can be used for both legal & illegal purposes, so it is vital that parents and children know how these tools can be used safely.<\/p>\n
\u2014 National Crime Agency (NCA) (@NCA_UK) February 13, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The Register<\/em> has emailed WMROCU via the address on the poster to ask some pertinent questions. If the coppers reply, we’ll update this article \u2013 though we have a sneaky feeling they’re probably hoping all of this goes away.<\/p>\n
Snark aside, ignorance about infosec abounds. Even Metasploit, highlighted in the WMROCU poster as an example of nefarious hacking software, has entirely legitimate uses: a quick internet search for UK infosec courses shows plenty of syllabi that include how to use Metasploit as a white-hat tool.<\/p>\n
Let’s hope West Midlands Police learns something useful from this cockup. \u00ae<\/p>\n
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