[ISN] School officials: 13-year-old hacker wiped out school records from computer system

From: InfoSec News (isn@private)
Date: Thu Mar 11 2004 - 23:04:01 PST

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    http://www.morningjournal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=11111924&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46371&rfi=6
    
    MICHAEL C. FITZPATRICK 
    Morning Journal Writer  
    03/11/2004 
     
    NORTH RIDGEVILLE -- A middle school student hacked into a server that 
    stored records for a computerized student reading program and deleted 
    the files sometime last week, according to North Ridgeville schools 
    Superintendent Larry Bowersox. 
    
    The 13-year-old boy is currently serving a 10-day suspension and 
    school officials were expected to meet with his parents today to 
    determine if he would be expelled, according to school officials.
    
    ''This student made a conscious choice and willfully destroyed 
    property. That's vandalism, that's a serious act and that's something 
    we can't tolerate,'' said Bowersox.
    
    The files deleted were associated with a reading program called 
    Accelerated Reader, Bowersox said. The files destroyed ''document and 
    store student progress'' in the reading program, Bowersox said.
    
    No confidential student information was deleted, Bowersox said. He 
    said that information is stored on a different server.
    
    The district is also looking into whether other students were involved 
    in the hacking, school officials said.
    
    Bowersox declined to give any information about the student, saying he 
    would be in violation of student confidentiality laws.
    
    Bowersox said the number of files deleted numbered in ''the 
    hundreds.''
    
    Principal John Komperda told the Associated Press that a substitute 
    teacher allowed the eighth-grader to use a classroom computer after 
    completing an assignment on March 2. 
    
    Bowersox said the problem was detected Thursday when students were 
    unable to retrieve their own reading files.
    
    Students and their parents in the North Ridgeville schools are 
    required to sign an ''acceptable use'' form to use the computers, 
    Bowersox said.
    
    Bowersox said the investigation is ongoing and the school is examining 
    how its servers are safeguarded.
    
    ''We had used the normal safeguards that are built into that program 
    but as a result of this incident we are looking into developing 
    additional safeguards, passwords or whatever we need to protect that 
    information,'' said Bowersox.
     
    
    
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