Manual catches 2 student hackers

This from the Courier-Journal:

Jefferson teachers toughen passwords

Computer passwords will get tougher for thousands of Jefferson County teachers, after two duPont Manual seniors were involved in a scheme to hack into school computers to boost grades, erase absences and post coming tests.

Jefferson County Public Schools is upgrading its password policy and changing teacher log-ins after the breach, said district technology director Cary Petersen.

The district also is looking at using fingerprint scanners on computers and is asking some Manual teachers to verify grades, he said.

The breach occurred when at least one of the seniors, who were not identified by the school district, apparently installed software on his teacher's computer that recorded each keystroke to help determine passwords, according to officials, who are still investigating.

The passwords provided access to the district's student-data system, where one senior improved his grades and erased several tardies and absences.

He also changed an unknown number of other students' grades and absences to divert attention, Petersen said.

The scheme unraveled when an attendance clerk noticed the changes, and when officials discovered that a Web site operated by one of the students was posting tests and quizzes before they had been given by seven teachers.

Those seven teachers had only one student in common...