http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=9&ID=231245 By Melissa Griffy Repository staff writer July 6, 2005 JACKSON TWP. - Always log out. That's one of the first things you learn when you use a computer. But one day last spring, Jackson High student David Paola stumbled across an exception to the "always log out" rule - a teacher failed to exit the school's grading system. "Pinnacle (the grading program) was open and completely accessible to anybody who would have moved the mouse as we had," wrote Paola in his narrative statement released by Jackson police as part of the department's investigation. Paola and his friend and classmate Adam Gross were enrolled in an evening course at Jackson High in preparation for college entrance exams when they made the discovery. When their senior year began in August, Paola said he found that teachers' user names, and sometimes their passwords, were located on students' schedules. Paola began accessing the Pinnacle program two times a week, "sometimes less, rarely more frequently," he wrote. As honor students who were respected by their peers and teachers, neither Paola nor Gross aroused suspicion. Gross said they watched a teacher type in his user name and password, and figured it out by trial and error. The duo saved the information on a computer drive about the size of a car key. That way they could access the information anywhere. But Paola said he only changed grades while in Jackson High's library in the mornings, and sometimes during study halls. There, he was able to access local administrator accounts and even the school's e-mail server. The students said they found staff information, including Social Security numbers, was accessible along with security cameras and the school's sprinkler system. Paola admitted to changing grades for himself and three other students, including Nathan Johnson. Johnson told police Paola asked him to insert a disk into one of his teacher's computers. Johnson said he was aware that the software would extract the codes necessary for Paola to change his grades in that particular class. When a fellow student turned the seniors in, their scheme came to a halt - so did their hopes for honors diplomas. The students were barred from the Jackson Local graduation ceremony in May. They were found guilty of unauthorized use of property, a first-degree misdemeanor. Paola, Gross and Johnson will serve their house arrest and community service, but school officials said the district will live with the ramifications for quite some time. _________________________________________ Attend the Black Hat Briefings and Training, Las Vegas July 23-28 - 2,000+ international security experts, 10 tracks, no vendor pitches. www.blackhat.com
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