Information Security News: Needham schools say system was breached

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2008/08/26/needham_schools_say_system_was_breached/

By Peter Schworm
Globe Staff 
August 26, 2008 

A junior at Needham High School posted students' schedules and 
identification numbers and teachers' classroom rosters on his Facebook 
account after hacking into an online student information system, school 
officials said yesterday.

In an e-mail sent yesterday morning to high school parents, principal 
Paul Richards and the district's superintendent, Dan Gutekanst, said the 
student admitted he had obtained and posted the information after 
learning part of a teacher's password, then developing a program to 
penetrate the system. The student posted the information as an Excel 
file that was e-mailed among other students.

"As you might imagine, this is a serious breach of our system and will 
require significant work to determine how to prevent this from happening 
again," stated the e-mail to parents.

Students who accessed the information notified school officials about 
the breach, and Richards talked to the alleged hacker. The student did 
not alter any information, Richards said. School officials did not 
release the boy's name.

[...]


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