School Data Breach Leaves Boy With three Felonies

October 29, 2008 – 1:20 pm

A 15 year old boy has been arrested after he accessed a database that had 250 names and personal information of the past and present Shenendehowa transportation employees. The boy was able to use his student password to access the information.

The student sent an email to the principle of the school letting him know that he had the database. This was on Tuesday and by Thursday the police were knocking at his door. The boy is going to be charged with four felonies: computer trespass, unlawful possession of personal identification information and identity theft.

The boy accessed the information while the school was upgrading their computer systems. The upgrade was being done in house with the help of some outsourced venders. At the time of the data breach anyone with a district password could have gained access to the information. However, it would have taken some computer knowledge to actually get to the information.

The school refuses to take the blame for the weakness in the system. The school also had to deal with the hundreds of employees that were nervous about the possibility of their identities getting stolen. The school is pretty sure that the boy was not trying to steal anyone’s identity but was just trying to show what he could do if he wanted. The boy is known for his computer mischievousness. The student is on a 5 day suspension and could receive more punishment after a superintendent meeting. Since the boy is a minor he will most likely not serve any jail time.

There is only so much that an individual can do to protect his or her identity. You could be really careful with all your person information, but you can’t prevent the organizations and businesses that have your information from losing it. LifeLock is the leader in identity theft protection. If you would like a discount on a LifeLock membership use LifeLock Promotion code, Defense.

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