Breaking News English Lesson on Hackers

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Three charged in high-profile Twitter hack (3rd August, 2019)

The Reading / Listening - Hackers - Level 6

Three people have been charged for their alleged involvement in the massive hacking attack on Twitter that took place on July the 15th. Hackers hacked into 130 high-profile accounts, including those of former US President Barack Obama, presidential candidate Joe Biden, rapper Kanye West, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The accounts of companies like Apple and Uber were also breached. The hack was part of a bitcoin scam. The perpetrators compromised Twitter's administrative tools to gain access to the accounts. They then altered the accounts to post legitimate-looking tweets that informed followers they could double any funds sent to a bitcoin account.

The three suspects were arrested on Friday. One is a 19-year-old from the United Kingdom, the other two are American citizens aged 17 and 22. The 17-year-old is a resident of Florida. State investigators believe him to be the mastermind of the hack. A state attorney has filed 30 felony charges against him for "scamming people across America". The teen faces multiple charges, including 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal information. A lawyer told CNN: "There is a false belief within the criminal hacker community that attacks like the Twitter hack can be perpetrated anonymously and without consequence." The hack resulted in 415 transfers being made into the suspects' bitcoin accounts, worth nearly $118,000.

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

Hackers - Level 4 or Hackers - Level 5

Sources

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/07/31/tech/alleged-twitter-hacker-arrested/index.html
https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/tampa-teen-accused-of-being-mastermind-behind-twitter-hack-that-targeted-high-profile-accounts/
https://www.engadget.com/teenager-arrested-twitter-bitcoin-hack-183302700.html

Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. HACKERS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about hackers. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
charged / hacking / attack / high profile / account / Apple / bitcoin / scam / funds /
suspects / citizens / resident / mastermind / felony / fraudulent / belief / transfers
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. PERSONAL INFORMATION: Students A strongly believe we should put no personal information online; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. MASSIVE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "massive". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

MY e-BOOK

See a sample

5. ONLINE DANGERS: Rank these with your partner. Put the biggest online dangers at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

hacking
phishing
cyber-bullying
fake news
malware
scams
bad eyesight
lack of exercise

Vocabulary

Paragraph 1

1.	alleged	a.	The fact or condition of being part of an event or situation.
2.	involvement	b.	A dishonest scheme; a fraud.
3.	candidate	c.	Made a gap in and break through a wall, barrier, security system or defense.
4.	breached	d.	A person who applies for a job or is nominated for election.
5.	scam	e.	Said, without proof, to have taken place or happened.
6.	perpetrator	f.	Conforming to the law or to rules.
7.	legitimate	g.	A person who carries out a harmful, illegal, or immoral act.

Paragraph 2

8.	suspect	h.	In a way that prevents a person from being identified by name.
9.	resident	i.	A person thought to be guilty of a crime or offense.
10.	attorney	j.	Obtained, done by, or involving deception, especially criminal deception.
11.	felony	k.	A result or effect of an action or condition.
12.	fraudulent	l.	A lawyer.
13.	anonymously	m.	A crime.
14.	consequence	n.	A person who lives somewhere permanently or on a long-term basis.

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

The Twitter attack took place earlier this month. T / F
Hackers accessed 130 high-profile accounts. T / F
The account of a former US President was hacked. T / F
The hackers managed to gain access to administrative tools in Twitter. T / F
All of the alleged perpetrators are teenagers. T / F
The brains behind the attack is believed to be 17 years old. T / F
One of the men faces 30 felony charges. T / F
The scam netted the perpetrators over a million dollars. T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

alleged
massive
candidate
scam
altered
citizens
mastermind
felony
perpetrated
worth

brains
nominee
nationals
carried out
huge
crime
changed
supposed
valued at
fraud

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

Three people have been charged for
hacked into 130
Apple and Uber were also
altered the accounts to post legitimate-
double any funds sent
The three suspects were
state
believe him to be the mastermind
10 counts of fraudulent use
perpetrated anonymously and without

breached
consequence
to a bitcoin account
arrested on Friday
investigators
of the hack
their alleged involvement
of personal information
looking tweets
high-profile accounts

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

altered
breached
funds
profile
access
charged
compromised
former

Three people have been (1) _____________________ for their alleged involvement in the massive hacking attack on Twitter that took place on July the 15th. Hackers hacked into 130 high- (2) _____________________ accounts, including those of (3) _____________________ US President Barack Obama, presidential candidate Joe Biden, rapper Kanye West, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The accounts of companies like Apple and Uber were also (4) _____________________. The hack was part of a bitcoin scam. The perpetrators (5) _____________________ Twitter's administrative tools to gain (6) _____________________ to the accounts. They then (7) _____________________ the accounts to post legitimate-looking tweets that informed followers they could double any (8) _____________________ sent to a bitcoin account.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.

worth
felony
citizens
false
perpetrated
suspects
multiple
mastermind

The three (9) _____________________ were arrested on Friday. One is a 19-year-old from the United Kingdom, the other two are American (10) _____________________ aged 17 and 22. The 17-year-old is a resident of Florida. State investigators believe him to be the (11) _____________________ of the hack. A state attorney has filed 30 (12) _____________________ charges against him for "scamming people across America". The teen faces (13) _____________________ charges, including 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal information. A lawyer told CNN: "There is a (14) _____________________ belief within the criminal hacker community that attacks like the Twitter hack can be (15) _____________________ anonymously and without consequence." The hack resulted in 415 transfers being made into the suspects' bitcoin accounts, (16) _____________________ nearly $118,000.

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1) people have been charged for their alleged involvement in the ______
     a. massively hacking attack
     b. missive hacking attack
     c. mass sieve hacking attack
     d. massive hacking attack
2) former US President Barack Obama, presidential ______
     a. candidate Joe Biden
     b. candidacy Joe Biden
     c. candidate see Joe Biden
     d. candid date Joe Biden
3) were also breached. The hack was part of ______
     a. a bitcoin scum
     b. a bitcoin scram
     c. a bitcoin scam
     d. a bitcoin scamp
4) The perpetrators compromised Twitter's administrative tools ______
     a. to gain excess
     b. to gain access
     c. to gain recess
     d. to gain axe sis
5) post legitimate-looking tweets that informed followers they could ______
     a. doublet any funds
     b. double any funds
     c. doubled any funds
     d. doubles any funds

6) a 19-year-old from the United Kingdom, the other two ______
     a. are American citizen
   b. are American citizenry
     c. are American denizens
     d. are American citizens
7) State investigators believe him to be the mastermind ______
     a. of the heck
     b. of the shack
     c. of the hick
     d. of the hack
8) A state attorney has filed 30 ______
     a. felony charges
     b. baloney charges
     c. balcony charges
     d. feline charges
9) Twitter hack can be perpetrated anonymously ______
     a. and without consequential
     b. and without con sequence
     c. and without con sequences
     d. and without consequence
10) The hack resulted in 415 transfers being made into the suspects' ______
     a. bitcoin recounts
     b. bitcoin accounts
     c. bitcoin hack counts
     d. bitcoin hack ounce

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Three people have been charged (1) ____________________ involvement in the massive hacking attack on Twitter that took place on July the 15th. (2) ____________________ 130 high-profile accounts, including those of former US President Barack Obama, presidential candidate Joe Biden, rapper Kanye West, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The (3) ____________________ like Apple and Uber were also breached. The hack was part of a bitcoin scam. The perpetrators compromised Twitter's administrative (4) ____________________ access to the accounts. They then (5) ____________________ to post legitimate-looking tweets that informed followers they could (6) ____________________ sent to a bitcoin account.

The three (7) ____________________ on Friday. One is a 19-year-old from the United Kingdom, the other two are American citizens aged 17 and 22. The 17-year-old is (8) ____________________ Florida. State investigators believe him to be the mastermind of the hack. A (9) ____________________ filed 30 felony charges against him for "scamming people across America". The teen (10) ____________________, including 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal information. A lawyer told CNN: "There is (11) ____________________ within the criminal hacker community that attacks like the Twitter hack can be perpetrated anonymously and without consequence." The (12) ____________________ 415 transfers being made into the suspects' bitcoin accounts, worth nearly $118,000.

Comprehension questions

When did the Twitter hack take place?
How many accounts were hacked?
Which rapper's account was hacked?
What tools did the hackers gain access to?
What was the return on money promised by the hackers?
How old is the youngest person who was arrested?
How many felony charges does one of the alleged hackers face?
What news agency was mentioned in the article?
Who did a lawyer say had a false belief?
How much money was deposited in the hackers' bitcoin accounts?

Multiple choice quiz

1) When did the Twitter hack take place?
a) July the 30th
b) July the 20th
c) July the 5th
d) July the 15th
2) How many accounts were hacked?
a) 120
b) 130
c) 140
d) 110
3) Which rapper's account was hacked?
a) Kendrick Lamar
b) Eminem
c) JayZ
d) Kanye West
4) What tools did the hackers gain access to?
a) axes
b) picture tools
c) administrative tools
d) hacking tools
5) What was the return on money promised by the hackers?
a) 10%
b) variable
c) two-year
d) double

6) How old is the youngest person who was arrested?
a) 18
b) 19
c) 17
d) 20
7) How many felony charges does one of the alleged hackers face?
a) 30
b) 20
c) 25
d) 35
8) What news agency was mentioned in the article?
a) BBC
b) Al Jazeera
c) CNN
d) ABC
9) Who did a lawyer say had a false belief?
a) tweeters
b) the criminal hacker community
c) attorneys
d) social media users
10) How much money was deposited in the hackers' bitcoin accounts?
a) nearly $118,000
b) nearly $128,000
c) nearly $180,000
d) nearly $188,000

Role play

Role A – Hacking
You think hacking is the biggest online danger. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as dangerous. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): fake news, cyber-bullying or a lack of exercise.

Role B – Fake News
You think fake news is the biggest online danger. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as dangerous. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): hacking, cyber-bullying or a lack of exercise.

Role C – Cyber-Bullying
You think cyber-bullying is the biggest online danger. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as dangerous. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): fake news, hacking or a lack of exercise.

Role D – Lack of Exercise
You think a lack of exercise is the biggest online danger. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their things aren't as dangerous. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): fake news, cyber-bullying or hacking.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'teen'

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

and 'hacker'.
________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

• Share your findings with your partners.

• Make questions using the words you found.

• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

•Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

charged

130

breached

part

gain

doubled

one

resident

30

10

consequence

worth

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion - Hackers

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

What did you think when you read the headline?
What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'hacker'?
What do you know about hacking?
How worried are you about being hacked?
How big a problem is hacking?
Why are governments so worried about hacking?
How confident are you your personal information is safe online?
What would be the worst sites in your country to be hacked?
How can hackers breach the security of sites like Twitter?
What do you think of the hack on Twitter?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
What do you think of when you hear the word 'Twitter'?
What do you think about what you read?
What should happen to the hackers?
Have you ever masterminded anything?
Have you ever fallen for a scam?
What do you know about bitcoin?
What do you think of Twitter?
Will hackers always be able to get into websites?
What questions would you like to ask the Twitter CEO?

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

Three people have been charged for their (1) ____ involvement in the massive hacking attack on Twitter that took place on July the 15th. Hackers hacked into 130 high-profile accounts, including (2) ____ of former US President Barack Obama, presidential candidate Joe Biden, rapper Kanye West, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The accounts of companies like Apple and Uber were also (3) ____. The hack was part of a bitcoin (4) ____. The perpetrators compromised Twitter's administrative tools to (5) ____ access to the accounts. They then altered the accounts to post legitimate-looking tweets that informed followers they could double (6) ____ funds sent to a bitcoin account.

The three (7) ____ were arrested on Friday. One is a 19-year-old from the United Kingdom, the other two are American citizens aged 17 and 22. The 17-year-old is a resident of Florida. State investigators believe him to be the (8) ____ of the hack. A state attorney has filed 30 (9) ____ charges against him for "scamming people across America". The teen faces multiple charges, including 10 (10) ____ of fraudulent use of personal information. A lawyer told CNN: "There is a false belief within the criminal hacker community that attacks like the Twitter hack can be (11) ____ anonymously and without consequence." The hack resulted in 415 transfers being made into the suspects' bitcoin accounts, (12) ____ nearly $118,000.

Which of these words go in the above text?

(a) allegory (b) alleged (c) litigated (d) litigious
(a) them (b) those (c) that (d) they
(a) poached (b) broached (c) beached (d) breached
(a) scram (b) scam (c) scrum (d) scum
(a) take (b) gain (c) hold (d) do
(a) many (b) much (c) any (d) most
(a) respects (b) inspects (c) suspects (d) insects
(a) master chef (b) master class (c) mastermind (d) masterly
(a) baloney (b) peony (c) penal (d) felony
(a) counts (b) numbers (c) orders (d) numerals
(a) perpetrated (b) consulted (c) inculcated (d) traversed
(a) worthless (b) worthy (c) worth (d) worthwhile

Spelling

Paragraph 1

charged for their adleleg involvement
the ivsemsa hacking attack
presidential cntiadade Joe Biden
Apple and Uber were also beechdar
eaprrersotpt compromised Twitter's administrative tools
post tliigeemat-looking tweets

Paragraph 2

The three spsestuc were arrested on Friday
State vesatogtinisr
A state tnortaye
The teen faces ellumpit charges
lmoaynyunso and without consequence
resulted in 415 tnrrasesf being made

Put the text back together

(...) like the Twitter hack can be perpetrated anonymously and without consequence." The hack
(...) The three suspects were arrested on Friday. One is a 19-year-old from the United Kingdom, the other
( 1 ) Three people have been charged for their alleged involvement in the massive hacking
(...) resulted in 415 transfers being made into the suspects' bitcoin accounts, worth nearly $118,000.
(...) legitimate-looking tweets that informed followers they could double any funds sent to a bitcoin account.
(...) breached. The hack was part of a bitcoin scam. The perpetrators compromised
(...) two are American citizens aged 17 and 22. The 17-year-old is a resident of Florida. State investigators believe
(...) people across America". The teen faces multiple charges, including 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal
(...) him to be the mastermind of the hack. A state attorney has filed 30 felony charges against him for "scamming
(...) of former US President Barack Obama, presidential candidate Joe Biden, rapper Kanye West, Amazon
(...) information. A lawyer told CNN: "There is a false belief within the criminal hacker community that attacks
(...) attack on Twitter that took place on July the 15th. Hackers hacked into 130 high-profile accounts, including those
(...) CEO Jeff Bezos and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The accounts of companies like Apple and Uber were also
(...) Twitter's administrative tools to gain access to the accounts. They then altered the accounts to post

Put the words in the right order

their have alleged involvement . for charged been People
were accounts companies of breached . The Apple like
was The part of bitcoin hack scam . a
post the accounts tweets . Altered to legitimate-looking
to a any sent bitcoin account . Double funds
three were on The arrested suspects Friday .
the to Investigators him mastermind . be believe
state attorney 30 charges . filed A felony has
criminal belief false hacker A the community . within
transfers being resulted in 415 made . hack The

Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

Three people have been charged for their alleged / allegation involvement in the massive hacking / hacked attack on Twitter that took place on July the 15th. Hackers hacked into 130 high-profile accounts, including them / those of former US President Barack Obama, presidential candidacy / candidate Joe Biden, rapper Kanye West, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The accounts of / on companies like Apple and Uber were also breached / beached. The hack was part of a bitcoin scam / scum. The perpetrators reprimanded / compromised Twitter's administrative tools to gain access to the accounts. They then altered / faltered the accounts to post legitimate-looking tweets that reformed / informed followers they could double any funds sent to a bitcoin account.

The three suspects were arresting / arrested on Friday. One is a 19-year-old from the United Kingdom, the other two are American citizens ages / aged 17 and 22. The 17-year-old is a resident of Florida. State investigators believe him to be the mastermind / masterclass of the hack. A state attorney has filed 30 felony / baloney charges against him for "scamming people across America". The teen heads / faces multiple charges, including 10 counts of fraudulent use / action of personal information. A lawyer told CNN: "There is a false belief / believe within the criminal hacker community that attacks like the Twitter hack can be penetrated / perpetrated anonymously and without consequence." The hack resulted in / on 415 transfers being made into the suspects' bitcoin accounts, worth / value nearly $118,000.

Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

T h r__ p__ p l_ h_v_ b__ n c h_r g_d f_r t h__ r _l l_g_d _n v_l v_m_n t _n t h_ m_s s_v_ h_c k_n g _t t_c k _n T w_t t_r t h_t t__ k p l_c_ _n J_l y t h_ 1 5 t h . H_c k_r s h_c k_d _n t_ 1 3 0 h_g h - p r_f_l_ _c c__ n t s , _n c l_d_n g t h_s_ _f f_r m_r U S P r_s_d_n t B_r_c k O b_m_, p r_s_d_n t__ l c_n d_d_t_ J__ B_d_n , r_p p_r K_n y_ W_s t , A m_z_n C E O J_f f B_z_s _n d S p_c_X _n d T_s l_ C E O E l_n M_s k . T h_ _c c__ n t s _f c_m p_n__ s l_k_ A p p l_ _n d U b_r w_r_ _l s_ b r__ c h_d . T h_ h_c k w_s p_r t _f _ b_t c__ n s c_m . T h_ p_r p_t r_t_r s c_m p r_m_s_d T w_t t_r ' s _d m_n_s t r_t_v_ t__ l s t_ g__ n _c c_s s t_ t h_ _c c__ n t s . T h_y t h_n _l t_r_d t h_ _c c__ n t s t_ p_s t l_g_t_m_t_- l__ k_n g t w__ t s t h_t _n f_r m_d f_l l_w_r s t h_y c__ l d d__ b l_ _n y f_n d s s_n t t_ _ b_t c__ n _c c__ n t .

T h_ t h r__ s_s p_c t s w_r_ _r r_s t_d _n F r_d_y . O n_ _s _ 1 9 - y__ r -_l d f r_m t h_ U n_t_d K_n g d_m , t h_ _t h_r t w_ _r_ A m_r_c_n c_t_z_n s _g_d 1 7 _n d 2 2 . T h_ 1 7 - y__ r -_l d _s _ r_s_d_n t _f F l_r_d_. S t_t_ _n v_s t_g_t_r s b_l__ v_ h_m t_ b_ t h_ m_s t_r m_n d _f t h_ h_c k . A s t_t_ _t t_r n_y h_s f_l_d 3 0 f_l_n y c h_r g_s _g__ n s t h_m f_r " s c_m m_n g p__ p l_ _c r_s s A m_r_c_" . T h_ t__ n f_c_s m_l t_p l_ c h_r g_s , _n c l_d_n g 1 0 c__ n t s _f f r__ d_l_n t _s_ _f p_r s_n_l _n f_r m_t__ n . A l_w y_r t_l d C N N : " T h_r_ _s _ f_l s_ b_l__ f w_t h_n t h_ c r_m_n_l h_c k_r c_m m_n_t y t h_t _t t_c k s l_k_ t h_ T w_t t_r h_c k c_n b_ p_r p_t r_t_d _n_n y m__ s l y _n d w_t h__ t c_n s_q__ n c_. " T h_ h_c k r_s_l t_d _n 4 1 5 t r_n s f_r s b__ n g m_d_ _n t_ t h_ s_s p_c t s ' b_t c__ n _c c__ n t s , w_r t h n__ r l y $ 1 1 8 , 0 0 0 .

Punctuate the text and add capitals

three people have been charged for their alleged involvement in the massive hacking attack on twitter that took place on july the 15th hackers hacked into 130 highprofile accounts including those of former us president barack obama presidential candidate joe biden rapper kanye west amazon ceo jeff bezos and spacex and tesla ceo elon musk the accounts of companies like apple and uber were also breached the hack was part of a bitcoin scam the perpetrators compromised twitters administrative tools to gain access to the accounts they then altered the accounts to post legitimatelooking tweets that informed followers they could double any funds sent to a bitcoin account

the three suspects were arrested on friday one is a 19yearold from the united kingdom the other two are american citizens aged 17 and 22 the 17yearold is a resident of florida state investigators believe him to be the mastermind of the hack a state attorney has filed 30 felony charges against him for scamming people across america the teen faces multiple charges including 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal information a lawyer told cnn there is a false belief within the criminal hacker community that attacks like the twitter hack can be perpetrated anonymously and without consequence the hack resulted in 415 transfers being made into the suspects bitcoin accounts worth nearly 118000

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Threepeoplehavebeenchargedfortheirallegedinvolvementinthemas
sivehackingattackonTwitterthattookplaceonJulythe15th.Hackersha
ckedinto130high-profileaccounts,includingthoseofformerUSPresi
dentBarackObama,presidentialcandidateJoeBiden,rapperKanyeWe
st,AmazonCEOJeffBezosandSpaceXandTeslaCEOElonMusk.Theacc
ountsofcompanieslikeAppleandUberwerealsobreached.Thehackwas
partofabitcoinscam.TheperpetratorscompromisedTwitter'sadminist
rativetoolstogainaccesstotheaccounts.Theythenalteredtheaccounts
topostlegitimate-lookingtweetsthatinformedfollowerstheycoulddou
bleanyfundssenttoabitcoinaccount.Thethreesuspectswerearrested
onFriday.Oneisa19-year-oldfromtheUnitedKingdom,theothertwoar
eAmericancitizensaged17and22.The17-year-oldisaresidentofFlor
ida.Stateinvestigatorsbelievehimtobethemastermindofthehack.Ast
ateattorneyhasfiled30felonychargesagainsthimfor"scammingpeopl
eacrossAmerica".Theteenfacesmultiplecharges,including10countso
ffraudulentuseofpersonalinformation.AlawyertoldCNN:"Thereisafal
sebeliefwithinthecriminalhackercommunitythatattacksliketheTwitt
erhackcanbeperpetratedanonymouslyandwithoutconsequence."Th
ehackresultedin415transfersbeingmadeintothesuspects'bitcoinacc
ounts,worthnearly$118,000.

Free writing

Write about hackers for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Academic writing

People should put as little personal information online as possible. Discuss.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Homework

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. HACKERS: Make a poster about hackers. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. PERSONAL INFORMATION: Write a magazine article about laws limiting what personal information we can put online. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on hacking. Ask him/her three questions about it. Give him/her three of your opinions on hacking. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

A Few Additional Activities for Students

Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

Also...

Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

News
Warm ups
Pre-reading / Post-reading
Using headlines
Working with words
While-reading / While-listening
Moving from text to speech
Post-reading / Post-listening
Discussions
Using opinions
Plans
Language
Using lists
Using quotes
Task-based activities
Role plays
Using the central characters in the article
Using themes from the news
Homework

Buy my book

$US 9.99

Answers

(Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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Breaking News English Lesson on Hackers

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