[real]

June 19, 2008 (Computerworld) A California teen faces up to 38 years in jail on charges he broke into his school's computers to alter grades so he could improve his chances of getting into college.

Omar Khan, 18, of Coto de Caza this week was charged with 69 felony counts including 34 for altering a public record, 11 for stealing and secreting a public record and seven for illegal computer access and fraud. Charged along with him was Tanvir Singh, also 18, of Ladera Ranch, who faces up to three years in prison for allegedly conspiring with Khan in the plot to manipulate grades.

Khan was arrested on Tuesday; Singh turned himself in to authorities yesterday.

Both teens are seniors at Tesoro High School, a Rancho Santa Margarita-based institution recently ranked among the Top 1,000 high schools in the U.S. by Newsweek. A statement by Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckus' office described Khan as breaking into his school facilities on numerous occasions between January and May to access school computers and change his grades. He was charged with stealing personal log-in credentials from teachers to break into school computers and change current grades from advanced placement (AP) tests as well as grades from past semesters.

Khan allegedly changed Fs and Ds to As on numerous occasions. Though most of the time he allegedly changed his own grades, he also altered the permanent transcripts of at least 12 other students at Tesoro High School, Rackauckus' office said.

On one occasion, Khan allegedly used credentials belonging to a teacher to access his school district's main grade database and install a malware program that would have given him access to the system from multiple locations.

His actions were detected when Khan sought an official transcript of his grades and school officials noted a discrepancy, said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for Rackauckus. An investigation found Khan to be in possession of copies of his altered grades as well as master copies of original tests and answers -- some of which he e-mailed to other students.

Singh, meanwhile, faces three felony charges for allegedly exchanging several text messages with Khan on one occasion discussing plans to break into a teacher's classroom and steal a test. The 38 years that Khan faces is the maximum he can get if he is convicted on all 69 felony counts and receives the maximum sentence on each, Emami said.

"These are serious charges -- burglary, ID theft, receiving stolen property, conspiracy," Emami said.

Both students are expected to be formally arraigned in court early next month.

Teen faces 38 years in jail for grade-tampering hack

[socceroni67]

wow
he's

[Wolfn]

Damn, that sounds like something Ferris Bueller would do.

But seriously, so many kids across America wish that they could change their grades like that.

[shadha]

Serves him right.


shadha-

[ChotooMotoo]

If you're smart enough to do this, you're smart enough to get A's in stupid H.S.

[wheelworks]

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

If you're smart enough to do this, you're smart enough to get A's in stupid H.S.

Not really. Think of Bill Gates. Being a Genius in one field doesn't make you a Genius in others. Like me for instance (I almost flunked a lot of courses)

[ChotooMotoo]

Originally Posted by wheelworks

Not really. Think of Bill Gates. Being a Genius in one field doesn't make you a Genius in others. Like me for instance (I almost flunked a lot of courses)

No man, it's just laziness. H.S. is NOT that hard, even prestigious ones aren't that hard. He spent all the time and effort to get into the school, hack into systems so he wouldn't have to spend time studying and bringing up his grades.

[vegetables]

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

No man, it's just laziness. H.S. is NOT that hard, even prestigious ones aren't that hard. He spent all the time and effort to get into the school, hack into systems so he wouldn't have to spend time studying and bringing up his grades.

yep. my friend did the same thing and got caught. he was lazy in most of his classes except for computers. after he got expelled he was able to prioritize his studies, graduate and now hes doing really well in the IT field

[oFoShOuKnO]

Omar is such a beautiful name,

why you gotta mudsling at it like that yo?

[sixpakistan]

38 years is ridiculous for a kid pulling this kind of childish crap. He didn't steal any money or do anything destructive, and even from a purely electronic tampering perspective, changing grades is pretty bush league. Not to mention that he probably did most of this when he was a minor.

But really, he won't get 38 years or even close to it. He might get ~6 months or a year at most.

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

He spent all the time and effort to get into the school, hack into systems so he wouldn't have to spend time studying and bringing up his grades.

Yeah, but see, that stuff is fun and enjoyable to a guy that age. Schoolwork is tedious.

[Spice]

Thats pretty impressive, good job Omar!

[TrentReznor858]

Originally Posted by sixpakistan

38 years is ridiculous for a kid pulling this kind of childish crap. He didn't steal any money or do anything destructive, and even from a purely electronic tampering perspective, changing grades is pretty bush league. Not to mention that he probably did most of this when he was a minor.

But really, he won't get 38 years or even close to it. He might get ~6 months or a year at most.
Yeah, but see, that stuff is fun and enjoyable to a guy that age. Schoolwork is tedious.

[sumiyia]

he's facing 38 but i'm pretty sure he won't get it. many defendants facing 100+ years for murder and attempted murder charges end up getting ~20. grade changing and what not is really not as serious.

[ChotooMotoo]

Originally Posted by sixpakistan

Yeah, but see, that stuff is fun and enjoyable to a guy that age. Schoolwork is tedious.

So are the kinds of jobs felons get once they get out of jail.

[Variable]

Originally Posted by ChotooMotoo

If you're smart enough to do this, you're smart enough to get A's in stupid H.S.

I'd agree with that statement... if he was smart enough to get away with it.