[ISN] One "hacker" expelled; more hearings scheduled

From: InfoSec News (isnat_private)
Date: Mon May 12 2003 - 01:31:39 PDT

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    Forwarded from: William Knowles <wkat_private>
    
    http://www.stoughtonnews.com/news.cfm?num=3471
    
    [ http://lists.insecure.org/lists/isn/2003/May/0007.html  - WK]
    
    Terry Hagerty
    Courier Hub Reporter 
    May 12, 2003
    
    STOUGHTON -- The Stoughton Board of Education Tuesday night voted 
    unanimously to expel a Stoughton High School student for illegally 
    gaining entrance to school computers and altering grades and 
    attendance records. 
    
    Monday night's expulsion hearing was the first of three separate 
    hearings scheduled for this week for the three students alleged to 
    have been the main actors in the scheme. The expulsion hearing was 
    closed to the press and public. 
    
    Several students have also been suspended in the case, which involves 
    as many as 20 students, some of whom reportedly had grades changed 
    unbeknownst to them. 
    
    Some students were charged $5 per grade change, according to official 
    reports. 
    
    Also, the grade of at least one athlete, who was academically 
    ineligible to play sports last fall, had his grade altered in an 
    apparent attempt to make him eligible again, although he told 
    officials he was not aware of the grade change. 
    
    The accused students used a sophisticated computer program which is 
    able to detect the keystrokes used in typing in a password and 
    transfer the information to a website, 'ispynow.com', so the 
    information could be accessed from a remote site. 
    
    The students were apparently able to use the program undetected and 
    leave it in place, as early as last December, even while district 
    computers had undergone a security audit in January, Supt. Myron 
    Palomba recently said. 
    
    On several occasions, students used school computers, including school 
    library computers, to gain access to faculty computers. 
    
    A teacher initially detected that grades of three students in her 
    algebra/trigonometry class had been changed on her computer entries. 
    
    A further investigation determined the hackers also had changed 
    student grades posted by several other teachers. 
    
    When questioned by district officials, with his parents present, one 
    16-year-old student said he and two other students had used a program 
    which will log 'everything' a computer does, and then send that 
    information to an Internet website. 
    
    The program can capture keystrokes (i.e. passwords), e-mails, instant 
    messages and both sides of 'chat conversations' and even credit card 
    numbers. 
    
    The computer intrusions cost school officials time and expense by 
    having to check computers at all of the district's schools. 
    
    Palomba said the school district is working with Madison’s Inacom 
    Information Systems to evaluate and improve the district’s computer 
    security system. 
    
    Charges against several students are pending, Police Chief Pat 
    O'Connor said early this week. 
    
    
     
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