In addition to causing information loss and disruption in normal operations, recent ransomware attacks in dozens of schools in the U.S. could lead to other undesirable consequences, such as influencing children’s behavior. Information security specialists report that a high school student in Riverside, California, faces serious accusations from school authorities, who claim that the child tricked his teachers into accessing the school’s systems and change their grades.
Police in Riverside have reportedly requested
that the 15-year-old boy be charged with computer intrusion. The child would
have posed as a high-ranking official to contact some high school teachers and
request their usernames and passwords to access the school’s online platform.
After the teachers fell into the trap and
handed over their access keys, the young man accessed the school’s systems,
altered his grades by making them higher and took advantage to lower the grades
of other students, even added some discipline reports. The incident was
detected after some of the affected students notified the administrative staff,
who informed the authorities, the information security experts mentioned. It is
presumed that the minor in question studies at Encore Junior & Senior High
School for the Arts; the kid’s identity will remain anonymous due to their
age.
It is not yet known whether charges have been
brought against the child for the alleged hacking incident; Riverside police
and the county district attorney have not responded to requests for information
from various media.
According to information security specialists,
other similar incidents have been reported in high schools in other locations,
such as Newport Beach and San Dimas, where some students have also been accused
of improperly accessing school systems to alter their grades.
Another similar incident occurred at Corona del
Mar High School. The students at this school hired a private tutor to change
their grades and also steal some exams. The person responsible pleaded guilty
to computer fraud and theft of confidential information. Finally, the person
responsible received a one-year prison sentence and five years probation; in
addition, eleven students were expelled from school after the incident.
A few days ago, a cybersecurity incident was
reported in some Louisiana
schools that halted operations at various facilities. The state governor stated
that this occurred due to a ransomware attack perpetrated by an as yet
unidentified hacker group; the state government even declared a cybersecurity
alert, so they hope to invest the resources needed to restore systems to their
regular state.
