Student faces 38 years jail for hacking computers to change grades

Tech News

Jun 19, 2008, 20:22 GMT

Los Angeles - It sounds like the kind of prank that any devious and mildly criminal high school student might undertake. But Omar Khan's attempt to hack into the computers at his southern California high school to change his grades to A could land him with as much as 38 years in jail after he was charged with 69 felonies, according to the Orange Country Sheriff's Department. In their arraignment on Thursday, County prosecutors alleged that Omar Khan, 18, of Coto de Caza, California, and Tanvir Singh, 18, broke into Tesoro High School in Las Flores to steal tests and change their own and others' grades on the school computer network. Singh is alleged to have tried the scam only and faces four counts that could land him in jail for three years, while Khan apparently did it repeatedly. Khan was arrested Monday and released on 50,000 dollar bail, while Singh was released on his own recognizance. The charges against Khan include altering and stealing public records, computer fraud, burglary, identify theft and receiving stolen property and conspiracy, Orange County district attorney spokeswoman Susan Schroeder said. He is alleged to have used a stolen master key to break into the school, and log on to an administrative computer using pilfered access codes to alter his C and D grades to As and thus improve his chances of being admitted to the one of the campuses of the elite University of California system. Prosecutors say Khan also installed software that would allow him to access the school network remotely, though there was no allegation he ever did do so. Suspicions about Khan were raised in April after he was rejected by the university and then appealed after he changed his grades. 'Khan was known as a student with average grades. Then all of a sudden, school officials saw that he had a lot of As. That was a red flag,' Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino told the Orange County Register.

View blog reactions

Latest Headlines in Tech

Talkback

Add your comment (no registration required)

page: 1

brahmanJun 20th, 2008 - 01:04:49

If the kid can do this, then he deserves an 'A'. Drop the charges, send him to a great college, and then force him to serve in the computer security industry with minimal pay for 4 years.

Report this comment

joeJun 21st, 2008 - 06:36:25

69 felonies, 38 years... Please how stupid is the DA. All the dude wanted to do is get into a descent school. So he trespassed on school grounds and fiddled with the admin computers - big deal. He should only get probation (3 years), pay a fine, do some community service. That's it and no jail time.

Report this comment

Too bad it didn't happen in an earlier eraJun 26th, 2008 - 12:16:26

In contemporary times he is obviously just warming up to hack the pentagon codes and then control the nuclear missiles!

Report this comment

page: 1

Add your comment (no registration required)

Latest from M&C Blogs

Second presidential debate; no 'gamechanger' ? - Global Eye on October 8, 2008 5:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Debate: did McCain do enough? - Global Eye on September 29, 2008 6:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBacks (1)

Should Sen. John McCain's health records be made public? - Global Eye on September 15, 2008 8:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (53) | TrackBacks (0)

Raindance Film Festival - Estomago - London Calling on October 8, 2008 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Raindance Film Festival : It's Hard To Be Nice - London Calling on October 8, 2008 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

London Film Festival - Dean Spanley - London Calling on October 6, 2008 9:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport - The World in Pictures on October 2, 2008 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Devotee to Chinese Shrine of Sapam has face pierced - The World in Pictures on October 2, 2008 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Indian Muslims offer prayers on the occasion of Eid-al-Fitr - The World in Pictures on October 2, 2008 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Tech

Student faces 38 years jail for hacking computers to change grades

Tech News

Latest Headlines in Tech

Talkback

Latest from M&C Blogs

Similar articles

In Monsters and Critics

Corporate

The Fine Print