Three high school students in Lund face charges for hacking into a teacher's computer to change attendance records. The plan, involving a USB stick and software, was uncovered when a teacher suspected drug activity, leading to the discovery of the plot through surveillance footage.
Students Charged for Hacking Teacher's Computer to Alter Attendance Records
Students Charged for Hacking Teacher's Computer to Alter Attendance Records
A high school student's excessive absenteeism nearly cost him his study grant. In an attempt to solve the problem, he broke into his teacher's computer. Now, he and two other students are charged with computer intrusion.
Three students at a high school in Lund are charged with computer intrusion. According to the indictment, one student had such high absenteeism that he risked losing his study grant.
The solution to the problem did not seem to be attending more classes. Instead, the student spoke with another student, and the duo, with the help of a third student, used a USB stick to sneak software into a teacher's computer.
This way, they could log in as the teacher, reasoning that once logged in as the teacher, they could change the recorded absenteeism to attendance.
But the plan did not succeed.
Teacher Suspected Drug Activity
According to Sydsvenskan, a teacher saw students handling something that was passed around and put in a pocket. The teacher suspected drugs and contacted the principal. However, surveillance cameras revealed it was a USB stick.
The indictment's evidence includes a video showing part of a classroom, with a desk where a teacher's computer was left unattended. A student approaches, looks over his shoulder several times, and leaves the computer after half a minute. The student is said to be the one who wanted to erase his absenteeism, and the USB stick—which contained a program capable of controlling the computer as a teacher—came from a more tech-savvy student.
Wanted to Test If It Worked
In an interrogation, the more tech-savvy student said he was asked to help and that he "wanted to test" if the trick with the USB stick would work. When the tech-savvy student was confronted and exposed, he helped the school's IT manager uninstall the program that had been sneaked into the teacher's computer. According to the boy, the program was never activated, but he admits that the events described in the indictment occurred.
However, he—like the other two students—denies any wrongdoing.