Student Hacked School’s Site To Raise Grades

A consultant from Cooper City High Guidance was preparing report cards on November 2, 2006 when he noticed something missing. He at once reported it to the authorities. Now the school and Sheriff's office are looking into the matter. The principal of the school informed the students whose exam grades were fiddled with.

Keith Bromery from Broward School reported that the investigation shows that a student broke into the school's computer system around 2 years back and tampered with atleast 24 records.

A representative from Broward County Public Schools informed that a student or probably many students hacked the computer system containing records of the students. Head of the district special investigative unit, Joe Melita, said that a student has tempered with around 20 grades and other related records, either by hacking the district system, thieve the user name and password, or was provided the required information to access the system.

Bromery said that it is not clear whether this incident will affect the distribution of report cards.

Melita said, "We are investigating everything and exploring every possibility, whether it was an illegal access to the code or a trespass."

Alongwith the grades, the students may have tempered with the records of community service hours and attendance.

It is not possible that the student guessed the exact user name and password to gain access to the students' records. The student gained the access of 2400 students of Cooper City High only and not any other school of the district.

A similar incident cropped up in 2002 when a Western High School's Student asked for a price of $5 each to temper the grades in the school's computer system. The student was barred from the school for 10 days. In that incident, the student broke into the district's computer system.

The Student Code of Conduct of Broward notes that illegitimately exploiting the district technology is a crime. If a student is caught doing so, he could encounter suspension and dismissal and possible felonious accusations.

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» SPAMfighter News - 11/9/2006