[ISN] Hackers Face Prison Time For Boosting Grades

From: InfoSec News (alerts@private)
Date: Thu Jul 27 2006 - 22:31:32 PDT


http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=191502335
 
By Gregg Keizer
TechWeb
July 27, 2006 

A pair of California college students each face up to a year in prison for 
hacking into a professor's computer to give out bogus grades to themselves 
and other students, Los Angeles prosecutors said Thursday.

Jennifer Ngan, 19, of Alhambra and Lena Chen, 20, of Torrance -- roommates 
who attend California State University Northridge -- face misdemeanor 
charges of illegally accessing computers, among other counts.

After hacking into an unidentified professor's computer, the two handed 
out grades to nearly 300 other students, and boosted their own marks in 
the teacher's class. Ngan's grade, for example, was changed from a D+ to 
an A.

According to Frank Mateljan, a spokesman for the L.A. city attorney's 
office who was quoted in the Los Angeles Times, the Ngan and Chen "felt 
the professor was unfair, and it was on behalf of all the students" that 
they hacked his system.

They also allegedly used personal information gleaned from CSUN's network 
to order pizza, more than 20 magazine subscriptions, and a box of blank 
CDs to be delivered to the professor's home.

Ngan and Chen are scheduled for arraignment Aug. 21.



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