14 DAY TRIAL // Hacking into the schools network seems to be a rather usual behavior with students from the United States educational establishments. With an increasing number of students who are capable of breaking into their own school network, one has to wonder about the level of security of these networks. According to the Chicago Tribune, Wednesday, a New Trier Township High School student was charged with allegedly breaking into the school's electronic student records.
A rather similar incident was reported this week at the Texas Fort Bend Independent School District where four students, two of which were 15 and 16 years old, hacked into the school's network and changed the grades of 60 students, including themselves. The difference between this incident and the one at the Illinois educational establishment is that, for the New Trier Township High School incident, a single student is suspected. The 18-year-old Jonah Greenthal has been said to have hacked into the school's network back in February 2008.
The court order released for the senior student has prompted parents and fellow students to take Jonah's defense. The Greenthals and other students' parents believe that the Highschool administration could have dealt with this internally, without involving the police. Jonah turned himself in, after the New Trier staff requested a police investigation, and can now face a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
When he was discovered by the school's staff, Jonah was breaking into the school's network on his own laptop, that was connected to the school's network. The staff noticed his presence in the system and started searching the school, after realizing that the "hacker" was working from a local computer. Mark Chou, the New Trier student body president, said that students have made T-shirts and wristbands in order to show their support for Jonah Greenthal.
The 18-year-old "hacker" has been released Wednesday, after paying a $1,000 bail and will appear in court on June 5 in Skokie.