14 DAY TRIAL // An unknown hacker accessed the computer system of Panther Creek High School in Cary, Wake County, North Carolina, USA, and changed the grades of a few students.
Because of this change, student rankings were affected right before the North Carolina College Application Week, when local senior students get their grade cards and submit their college applications at universities across the US.
The school's IT staff discovered the incident about a week ago and immediately alerted the police. High school management, the local school district, and colleges where students had applied were also informed of the hack.
Authorities say they do not currently know how the hack took place, but that only Panther Creek High was affected.
Right now, high school officials are working on correcting the grades and the student rankings. Once this happens, colleges where Panther Creek High students applied will be notified about the new rankings and the correct student grades.
Panther Creek High Principal Camille Holmes Hendrick has issued a public statement announcement on the high school's website.
There were numerous cases in the past when high schools were hacked and student grades altered. In most cases, the culprits were local students who managed to get access, in one way or another, to school administrative staff passwords. Some of these students are currently facing serious jail time.