14 DAY TRIAL // Kennesaw police arrested Chase Arthur Hughes for hacking the private computer network of Kennesaw State University (KSU), changing grades and stealing sensitive information, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.
Hughes was arrested this week, but according to reports, he hacked the University's network between May and September this year, using his girlfriend's Internet connection.
Police say they found the login credentials of 36 KSU professors in a notebook at Hughes' house.
Hughes only changed grades in two classes
Investigators say Hughes accessed the school's network using one of the logins, where he modified grades and accessed sensitive information.
Hughes changed grades in two classes, for himself and two other students. Police said Hughes modified a B into an A for himself, and an F into an A, and a C into an A, for two others.
KSU uses the Owl Express software, which notified the class professor via email when the grades were modified.
Hacker also accessed sensitive information
University officials notified local police, who tracked down the intrusion to Hughes. Investigators also said Hughes had accessed portions of the school network that stored information such as employment history, credit, financial and medical information.
It is unclear at the moment if Hughes had downloaded any of this data, or how he managed to get hold of so many details for KSU professors.
Hughes, who is not a student at KSU anymore, has been charged with computer trespassing, computer invasion of privacy, and computer forgery, according to local media.
School hacking is a common occurrence
Last year in September, seven high school students were arrested for hacking the computer network of Lake Norman High School in Iredell County, North Carolina. The students managed to crack one of the school's administrative passwords and accessed the network, but had not changed any grades.
A month later, three students from the Commack High School in Long Island, New York, hacked the school's network and changed their grades and the school's class schedule.
In November, an unknown hacker had broken into the school network of Panther Creek High School in Cary, Wake County, North Carolina, and changed the grades of several students just before the college application period.
