From Dark Web to Digital Defense: How Former Cybercriminals Are Turning Teens Away from Cybercrime

In a classroom at a Manchester sixth-form college, two former hackers are delivering a message that Hollywood blockbusters rarely portray: the gritty, unglamorous reality of cybercrime. Gone are the slick Hollywood depictions of hoodie-wearing villains orchestrating billion-dollar heists from darkened rooms. Instead, students at Connell Co-op College are hearing about online feuds, swatting incidents, and the mundane chaos of internet drama.

“It’s just people getting into these online dramas and they’re swatting and doxing each other and getting people to throw bricks through their windows,” one of the hackers explains, using terminology that sounds like a foreign language to the uninitiated. For the students, however, the message cuts through clearly: behind the allure of cybercrime lies a world far removed from the glamorous portrayals in popular media.

These aren’t just any speakers. Conor Freeman, a 26-year-old from Dublin, served nearly three years in prison for his role in a $2 million cryptocurrency theft. His journey into cybercrime began innocuously enough—groomed online by an older teenager while playing Minecraft. What followed was a descent into dark web hacking forums and eventually large-scale cryptocurrency theft alongside other members of what’s known as “The Com,” short for “community.”

“I stumbled on these various different dark-net hacking forums and that’s when things really started to escalate,” Freeman admits. “I just fell into these different communities, different groups, befriended a couple of different people, and then found myself involved with large-scale cryptocurrency theft.”

The irony isn’t lost on anyone: Freeman is now employed by The Hacking Games, the very organization hosting this event, as an ethical hacker. His transformation from cybercriminal to cybersecurity professional represents the core mission of this initiative—redirecting raw talent away from destructive paths and toward constructive ones.

The event represents a unique partnership between The Hacking Games, a startup that identifies talented gamers to test companies’ IT systems, and the Co-op, which suffered a debilitating hack in April last year. The retailer has committed to helping young people recognize that the digital skills they already possess can be a force for good.

Fergus Hay, co-founder and CEO of The Hacking Games, explains the crucial connection between gaming and hacking. “There’s a 100% overlap between gaming and hacking,” he states, describing gaming as a “live laboratory for skills development.” The skills learned in gaming—particularly “modding,” or creating software that helps alter video games—can be applied to either hacking or cybersecurity.

“And the people who’ve worked that out are the bad guys,” Hay adds pointedly. “So what you’ve got is a whole generation of natural-born hackers who’ve got incredible aptitude, but they’re invisible. No one’s seen their skill sets because they aren’t advertised on LinkedIn.”

To identify these hidden talents, Hay’s company has developed an AI-powered test designed to spot skills among proficient gamers who could transition into cybersecurity roles. These individuals could help companies detect flaws in their IT systems through “red teaming”—ethical hacking where networks are subjected to attacks by expert computer users to identify vulnerabilities before malicious actors do.

Joining Freeman via video link was Ricky Handschumacher, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen who was part of the same cryptocurrency heist and served four years in prison. The talk marked the first time Freeman and Handschumacher had ever seen each other physically, despite their shared criminal history. Handschumacher, who also fell into The Com through gaming, told the audience that he would have chosen a different path had he known that you could be “paid a lot of money to do the right thing.”

The computing students who attended the talk left inspired. “The lesson is there’s great opportunities for you to go into computing, but you have to be watchful of what you’re doing because if you do something wrong, it will quickly harm your future,” said Suheil, 17.

Rob Elsey, the Co-op group’s chief digital officer, who led the organization’s fightback against a ransomware hack that cost £120 million in lost profits, emphasized the initiative’s importance. “These talks are about helping young people recognize that the digital skills they already have can be a force for good, protecting people, organizations, and communities rather than being misused or exploited.”

The Co-op plans to expand these Hacking Games talks across its 38 school academies throughout the year, recognizing that early intervention and education represent the best defense against the growing threat of cybercrime.

The urgency of this mission was underscored just months ago when four people, including three teenagers, were arrested at addresses in the West Midlands, Staffordshire, and London as part of an investigation into a trio of cyber-attacks on the Co-op, Marks & Spencer, and Harrods.

The message from Freeman, Handschumacher, and the organizers is clear: the skills that can destroy can also protect. The choice lies in how young people choose to apply their talents. In an era where cybercrime costs the global economy billions annually and threatens critical infrastructure, transforming potential cybercriminals into cybersecurity defenders isn’t just beneficial—it’s essential for our collective digital future.

This initiative represents more than just rehabilitation; it’s a recognition that the line between hacker and cybersecurity expert is often thinner than we imagine, defined more by opportunity and guidance than by inherent moral differences. By providing that guidance and creating legitimate pathways for talented individuals, programs like The Hacking Games are building a stronger, safer digital world—one former cybercriminal and one inspired student at a time.

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