This is The Guardian.

The Guardian Archive Long Read.

Hi, my name is Haid Modderk.

I'm the author of Leave No Trace, How a Teenage Hacker Lost Himself Online.

It was published in 2021.

It's a story of a troubled boy who found online the recognition he struggled to find in the real world.

In a moment of bravado, he made a mistake with serious consequences, including for himself.

What drew me to the story is that the consequences of the heck of the Netherlands's main telecom provider were widely reported in the media,

but the boy's story was never told.

The first time I spoke to him, what struck me immediately

was his fragility and disarming manner. It was hard not to feel a certain sympathy for him.

I think that the underlining theme of the story, the vulnerability of young people in a world

increasingly shaped by technology, maybe even more relevant today than it was in

2021. Do we judge these young people solely by what they do, or do we try to understand who they are?

And do we still hold onto a sense of humanity when we do?

Welcome to the Guardian Long Read, showcasing the best long-form journalism covering culture, politics, and new thinking.

For the text version of this and all our long reads, go to the Guardian.com forward slash longread.

Leave no trace.

How a teenage hacker lost himself online.

By Hab Mudderk.

Read by Aaron Vodavos and produced by Esther Apocou-Genny. Yo-Cé-Rober was leaving her place of work in Rotterdam when she saw a man and a woman walking towards her.

It was a Tuesday afternoon, 20th of March 2012. Are you, Mrs. Roba?

...