Students made a business altering records for others

Jul 1, 2014 22:07 GMT  ·  By

Two students at a university in Shanghai were charged with damaging a computer network after breaching the computer systems of the educational institution in order to modify information regarding the physical education course.

With entrepreneurship running through their veins, the duo, studying at the Lixin University of Commerce in Shanghai, found a simple way to make some easy money, about $4,000/€2,900 (25,000 yuan).

One of the requirements of the university is for male students to complete twenty 1,500-meter-long runs per semester, while females have to complete 18 runs.

The data is recorded in the database by swiping a card upon starting and completing the run. Not completing the number of runs leads to failing the physical education course.

Students Zhou and Cao started to put together a business that would earn them constant revenue from customers that needed their run records altered.

Zhou feared that he would fail the course, and to avoid it, he accessed the database without authorization and modified the records. Some colleagues found out and offered him money to do the same for them.

Cao learned about the business and offered to help Zhou by gathering customers for a cut, leaving him more time for the hacking. The lucrative activity lasted for four months and each hack was charged about $3/€2 (20 yuan).

The university finally caught wind of the deed and reported the two students to the police. In their defense, they said that they knew it was wrong, but they never imagined the act was a crime.