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Teen Hacker May Get 38 Years in Jail for Changing His Grades

timesonline.co.uk — It could be a long time before Omar Khan goes to college: as long as 38 years, according to Orange County prosecutors, who have arrested and charged the 18-year-old student with breaking into his prestigious high school and hacking into computers to change his test grades from Fs to As.

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  • Surferess, on 06/18/2008, -8/+599Wow, I know he shouldn't have done that, but 38 years seems a bit harsh, doesn't it?
    • sgiffy, on 06/19/2008, -1/+103Yeah, but he won't get that. That's probably the maximum you could get summing all the charges. He'll wind up up with much, much less. Possibly just a fine and community service.
      • IphtashuFitz, on 06/19/2008, -0/+31That and probably probation that includes the requirement of not using any computers, the internet, etc.
        • PJ1967, on 06/19/2008, -8/+15Or an "offer" to work for the NSA or DHS...or Karl Rove?
        • PeppermintPig, on 06/19/2008, -18/+2Which is rather absurd. If they don't want him touching computers, why not just keep him in jail? It's not much different than depriving someone of the means to drive in terms of securing your livelihood.
        • dOOBiEx213, on 06/19/2008, -1/+40NO COMPUTERS OR INTERNET? THAT WOULD DRIVE A MAN INSANE...
        • boobsbr, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5how do you enforce something like that?
        • IphtashuFitz, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4@boobsbr - One of the jobs of probation officers is to drop in unannounced at the persons home and/or job to make sure they're not doing anything that violates the terms of their probation. In this day and age they'd likely also just monitor websites like Facebook that some people seem thoroughly addicted to. If they knew this guy had used sites like Facebook, MySpace, etc. a lot then they'd probably keep an eye on that to try to see if he's still active there.
        • rpgmaker, on 06/19/2008, -6/+1Do the guy a favor and kill him instead for god's sake.
        • mattlohkamp, on 06/19/2008, -2/+6Dade Murphy, I hereby fine your family forty-five thousand dollars, and sentence you to probation, under which you are forbidden to own or operate a computer or touch tone telephone, until the day of your eighteenth birthday.
        • skratchnerd, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1HACK THE PLANET!!!!!!!
        • Blandyman, on 06/23/2008, -0/+1Oh. Oh. OH. OH!

          You need to upgrade, dude.
      • DocHoliday22, on 06/19/2008, -3/+35He's a stupid kid that made a stupid mistake. Hopefully he doesn't get the 38 years.
      • dOOBiEx213, on 06/19/2008, -2/+18Yea, if R Kelly can get away with CP chargers where there's video evidence, and witnesses testifying the girl in the video is indeed 15... nothing will happen to this guy. Oh wait, R Kelly is rich...
        • jsballardx, on 06/19/2008, -2/+3The kids rich too.
        • ebonn101, on 06/19/2008, -0/+6Obviously you've never been to Orange County, because this kid lives in a neighborhood and attends the local high school of one of the most affluent areas in America. Safe to say, if not for certain, that this kid is RICH.
      • ruddy, on 06/19/2008, -2/+20that's ***** you do when you're 17... what a dumb ass.
      • waspinator, on 06/19/2008, -3/+18There shouldn't even be an OPTION to sentence someone to 38 years for a crime like this. The justice system is ***** up.
        • minkusingh, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8isn't 38 years for a murder crime or something...i mean its almost a lifetime...
    • ericcire, on 06/19/2008, -3/+47That'll learn 'em!
      • smilgy, on 06/19/2008, -13/+3I see what you did there.
        • Hraes, on 06/19/2008, -1/+6You and everyone else can stop saying that now. It was never funny, and guess what? It still isn't, but now it's unfunny /and/ overused.
    • tim04, on 06/19/2008, -3/+26A week maybe for a crime like this where there's no victims. The worst part of the punishment should be the mere fact that he has a criminal record.
      • toastjam, on 06/19/2008, -3/+9This is not a victimless crime--the class rank of all of the non-cheating students would have been decreased, etc etc. So it's still not a murder or anything, just saying...
        • DangerMouse9, on 06/19/2008, -4/+4Oh yes, because some college is going to say "Sorry, you could've gotten in if you were ranked one person higher, here's an application for McDonald's."

        • tyywebb, on 06/19/2008, -2/+5It's true! I was ranked 27th instead of 15th. Now I'll spend four years rotting in Columbia instead of Princeton.
      • kingmanic, on 06/19/2008, -5/+2The legal victim was the school.
      • blackinthmiddle, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5And that his actions will produce the exact opposite affect of what he wanted. He'll probably have a hard time getting into clown college now!
        • basevillin, on 06/19/2008, -1/+7Only because he's overqualified.
          Ba-dum-psh!
      • ralphodog, on 06/19/2008, -1/+7He physically broke into the school and changed the grades of multiple students. I remember when I was in high school somebody stole a master key and pulled pranks with it; the school had to spend over $10k replacing the lock of every door in the building and saw a huge spike in their insurance rates.

        I can only imagine how much overtime they had to pay to cross reference all the records in the system to detect and correct all the changes. All in all this likely cost the school tens of thousands of dollars.

        Where's your victimless crime now?
      • screensnot, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2And our tax dollars are paying to punish the guy, so we're all victims a little bit.
    • FlyingSpaghetti, on 06/19/2008, -3/+151KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • gplpark92, on 06/19/2008, -21/+9Western justice systems at work..
      • jbramley, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8You're right, chopping off his hand would be a much better way to go about this case.
      • johndatserakis, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5He should just hack into the jail's computer system and change his sentence to 5 seconds
    • CosmicJustice, on 06/19/2008, -2/+39He also physically broke into the school building.
      • yayintertubes, on 06/19/2008, -20/+13Oh right.. I guess breaking & entering is worth a life sentence, if not hacking. Jesus effing H christ. If his name wasn't Omar Khan he'd be facing a slap on the wrist.
        • spwpi10, on 06/19/2008, -0/+12He will be I wouldn't worry about it. Like with most cases you can possibly get way more than you do.
      • JMPeronto, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8Yeah, I love that everybody seems to be neglecting the whole breaking and entering thing.
        • jameshales, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2It's because in the summary it says "breaking into his prestigious high school". No one reads the article, and because the title says "hacker" they think "breaking in" means in the computer sense.
        • JMPeronto, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2Good point. Even the slight modifications to the headline change the meaning of the story. There have been a ton of irreverent posts on this story. Lots of summary-only readers.
    • Frejesal, on 06/19/2008, -14/+5Nahh, he's got no respect for "the system", why should "the system" respect him?
      • nullx42, on 06/19/2008, -6/+5***** the system that ***** you.
      • tacohead, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8okay, so let me see if I get your line of thought.
        Your postulate:
        He doesn't respect the system.
        So, from that you conclude:
        This makes it alright to completely destroy his life by throwing him in prison for 38 years.

        There is a extremely good reason that you are not a judge, or currently on this guys jury. Hopefully, you don't even have full time responsibility of the slurpee machine a 7-11.
      • Jennefah, on 06/19/2008, -2/+1Would you still say that if you lived in a dictatorship or something?

        My point - "the system" is not always right.
    • XBSHX, on 06/19/2008, -2/+79Maybe if he wasn't such an idiot. You don't change F's into A's, you go for D's.
      • PJ1967, on 06/19/2008, -0/+55Or mix it up...an A, couple of B's, a couple of C's. He got greedy.
        • yacks, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4All crooks are greedy, atleast most that get got are.
        • Cenobite, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1What's got and where can I get it?
        • wonderbriefs, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2They got him, as in "got him good."
      • freezerburn666, on 06/19/2008, -3/+142hes going to get F'd in the A in prison...
      • tnoy, on 06/19/2008, -5/+3Thats exactly why I've never been caught. I mean, I would'nt have been caught if I were to have done that.
      • Memnochxx, on 06/19/2008, -0/+13What do you expect from somebody who gets all Fs?
      • xlneoMAXlx, on 06/19/2008, -5/+4THOW SOM D'S ON THAT BITCH!
    • laserdog, on 06/19/2008, -0/+53Next time he should just steal a car and rob a convenience store.

      Way less jail time.
    • bwdd, on 06/19/2008, -0/+8FTA: "If convicted on all 69 counts, including altering and stealing public records, computer fraud, burglary, identity theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy, Mr Khan could spend almost four decades in prison."

      That's not all he did.
      • psion01, on 06/19/2008, -3/+11Uh huh ... and how many of those charges are the same crime with different labels attached? Just from that short list, I'd say "altering and stealing public records" and "computer fraud" are probably different charges for the same crime. "Identity theft" probably goes on that list too, and it wouldn't at all surprise me if the "stolen property" wasn't physical property, but his original records as he changed them.

        Prosecutors do this all the time in an effort to run up the egregiousness of the offense and (I think) if they get a conviction on one count, they can use the combined weight of all the charges, even if not guilty of most of them, in sentencing.
        • Krstln, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Actually I would consider the identity theft the other 12 students grades that were changed and the stolen property to be the master key he had to get into the school. But I do agree, he got greedy. C's and B's would have been best and leave an F in there for safe keeping I mean c'mon now!
        • jgzman, on 06/20/2008, -0/+3ID Theft probably also refers to any admin or teacher passwords or logins he may have used.
    • superkendall, on 06/19/2008, -2/+16They should sentence him to work for the school IT for a year.
      • tnoy, on 06/19/2008, -2/+16I vote for making him use AOL dial-up on a Windows 98 computer.

        That'd be worse than prison for anyone who thinks of themselves as a hacker.
        • DangerMouse9, on 06/19/2008, -5/+1and yet, back in the day people did just that.
        • Krstln, on 06/19/2008, -5/+2Actually back in the day a real hacker didn't need AOL to get online or even have to pay to get online period with the right knowledge.....noob.
        • bills534, on 06/20/2008, -0/+298 wasn't so bad, Windows ME would be a real punishment.
      • buba1243, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4That would be cruel and unusual punishment
    • litkaj, on 06/19/2008, -4/+1I changed some grades as a proof of concept back when I was in high school and ended up getting my first full-time job out of it. Now, this kid did do it differently with the spyware, stolen master key, etc. but 38 years is still excessive.
    • Zuljin, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2No chance of him getting all that, and it wasn't just one little hack, it was breaking into the school multiple times and more.
    • jdepp, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4this is the crazy thing about the American justice system! produce some wildly exaggerated threat of "you could a 38 year sentence" so "you'd be best to admit your guilt" and so we get a guilty plea, save the expense and protracted delay of a trial.
      A simulation of justice, but a bit out of whack.
      • jerrycurley, on 06/19/2008, -1/+0Except NO ONE but this newspaper that has to spam Digg is hinting that 38 years is even a remote possibility.
    • slyk11, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5Heres the kicker to this story, the kid was supposed to graduate last Wednesday, but got caught right at the last minute. Up until Wednesday, his teachers had no idea he had done any of this. He waited until the last day school was open to ask for his "new" transcript, but unluckily someone noticed. Just one more day...
      • Elliuotatar, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2They probably noticed because all his friends were requesting transcripts as well!
    • Jareth86, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Okay, altering and stealing public records and computer fraud I get, but burglary, identity theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy? What the *****?!
      Also, he didn't hack, he just used the teachers passwords to log in.
      • yacks, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1crack.. he didn't CRACK!
      • jerrycurley, on 06/19/2008, -4/+1Using the teacher's password...yup..pretneding to be the teacher...IDENTITY THEFT. Pretty mcuh by the very definition of the phrase. I really don't see your confusion.
        • JMPeronto, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Didn't mean to be redundant -- looks like we were just thinking the same thing at the same time. Or three minutes apart.
      • JMPeronto, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Using teachers passwords unknowingly = Assuming someone else's identity = identity theft

        Breaking into a school at night = breaking and entering

        Spyware = Hacking
    • blup3ace, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2you know what else gets you 38 yrs in prison...?
    • RoflCoptah, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2well check out his defense:

      Mr Khan’s defence lawyer, Carol Lavacol, described her client as “a really nice kid” and said: “There’s a lot more going on than meets the eye.”
      • yacks, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2a really nice kid that gets caught cheating on a test and then changes his grades.. :)
      • Hraes, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5Wait, he's an Autobot?
    • charm803, on 06/19/2008, -3/+1Considering he was smart enough to know how to hack, I'm sure he is going to be offered some kind of cool job with the government or something.

      He may be autistic, and may learn differently than most people.


    • monoa, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2"...a bit harsh..."

      Love the understatement. I'd have used "a bit ***** ***** insane".
    • BadAshe86, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

      Yeah, but seriously as a juvenile, he'll only get a fraction of that. With the probation system as it is, you have to give huge sentences so they actually serve some time.

      As a juvenile, he'll probably get a huge sentence to serve notice to others who may consider similar offenses and then once this news story is off the radar, he'll be released on probation. Shoot, they might even wipe his record clean once he turns 18.
  • westbay1, on 06/18/2008, -40/+115I think the MIT guys should swoop in and save this guy... put him to work for the government or something eventually.
    • Tarree, on 06/19/2008, -10/+62I don't really think we need any more amoral, criminal sociopaths in government. We already have too many. But wait he is incompetent and lazy, so he is qualified to be a postal worker.
      • DeskFlyer, on 06/19/2008, -1/+30Or my co-worker.
        • mattsx, on 06/19/2008, -0/+16Marcus? Is that you? Dude, I need your TPS report!
      • ruddy, on 06/19/2008, -0/+6guys, changing your grade isn't hard. First of all, if he was smart, he wouldn't have gotten caught. secondly, he's probly just a script kiddie who key logged his teachers passwords. thats all there is to it! or better yet, log into a computer an admin uses, go into his startup, and place a keylogger in there! simple! then, change the grades of more people than just yourself! i'm ***** brilliant!
        • DangerMouse9, on 06/19/2008, -0/+9actually, you change the grades of the people you don't like to all A's and pin the crime on them.
        • peoplerstoopid, on 06/19/2008, -1/+0if you're so ***** brilliant why would you need to change your grades in the first place?
    • mydigga, on 06/19/2008, -8/+2I'm pretty sure that is already the way this is moving... less the MIT guys "saving" him. He will get the option to serve several years in prison or go to work for the govt.
    • xenocide, on 06/19/2008, -1/+71hes a skiddie why would mit want to pick him up? he just used teacher passwords and installed remote connect/control software = skiddie
      talents? yea i know how to dl stuff from the net
      • flameboy, on 06/20/2008, -0/+5He got caught. That means he wasnt very good.
    • didiman, on 06/19/2008, -2/+24he's most likely an idiot
    • 80hd, on 06/19/2008, -4/+5Is it really a good idea to reward people for dishonesty?
      'but he's smart!'
    • spookyttws, on 06/19/2008, -1/+18It's quite inaccurate, there was no 'hacking' involved, perhaps a bit of social engineering depending on how exactly he obtained the teachers passwords and key.And a remote desktop 'spyware' program? Type remote desktop into google or any bit torrent search engine, and you too can become a 'hacker' on your own way to 38 years in the clink. I think MIT can go without this spoiled not-very-good cheater.
    • dpcamp, on 06/19/2008, -0/+20I don't think MIT has a use for a someone that "hacked" into the system using a teachers password that was written on a post-it.
    • Carl306, on 06/19/2008, -1/+10He was failing classes in high school and resorted to stealing a few teachers passwords to change his grades, and you want a prestigious school like MIT to welcome him into their facilities for being a cheating idiot using sub par techniques at best?

      But by all means, if he were to be put to work in our current administration, I'm sure he'd fit right in!
    • basevillin, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3And why, pray tell, should MIT swoop in and save a script kiddie with terrible grades? All he did was use a stolen key and stolen login information. I guess I should be heading MIT by your standards; I know how to pick a lock and how to use a brute force password utility to break into logins... not to mention I'm smart enough to know when you cheat you don't go for 100%.
    • digitalpencil, on 06/19/2008, -0/+9What, for installing a keylogger, setting up VNC, and getting caught... oh yeh, that scriptkiddy's l33t!!
    • vanguardanon, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2Like everybody else has said, he's just a script kiddie. I'm sure somebody that knows nothing about computers is impressed with this guy but even my dumbest technical co-worker could pull of that stunt.

      For the most part, the guys that build systems are far more impressive than the guys that find a flaw in them. Likewise, I'm far more impressed with an author than the proofreader that caught a misspelling in his novel.
    • unpredictedM, on 06/20/2008, -1/+0oh please...its not as complicated hacking a high school database...MIT guys can hack federal databases....hes gonna rot
      • person425, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1What ever gave you the idea that MIT has a good security curriculum? You might be surprised to know that the MIT network is one of the most throughly owned computer networks on the planet.

        Also, reading your comment again, what is it that makes you think that federal databases are more secure than a highschool? I would bet that the IT security at that high school gets paid more than the average IT security in the federal sector.
    • johnnyboy239, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1Lets look at facts here....

      1) He got alot of F's
      2) He stole a Key
      3) He installed a program he found online
      4) He followed directions


      Doesn't sound like an incredibly bright kid, doesn't even sound like a hacker, it's just some fool who knows how to read.
    • Iztikeit, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1I don't think MIT has that jurisdiction......
  • Tarree, on 06/19/2008, -26/+4Well, he's not very bright getting Fs like that. Not very talented either, getting caught hacking, committing identity theft, burglary, and all those other crimes. What does he want to be when he grows up, a politician? 38 years should be just about right. But I doubt that he will get even a year. Tesoro a prestigious high school? I think not, more likely infamous. Tesoro is where all the rich kids on drugs go to school, so his dad is probably loaded (not as much as his kid, though) so he will only have his wrist slapped.
    • MrNexus, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3I agree that he'll probably get a slap on the wrist but to say that he deserves 38 years is ridiculous. Those who have murdered people and robbed banks have gotten less time then that.
    • slyk11, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2It's true what Tarree says. Most of the kids there are extremely rich, do every drug imaginable, smoke outrageous amounts of pot, and all thanks to their mommy's and daddy's money to pay for their habits.
    • digitalpencil, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2bury
    • lukas88, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Good grades do not equal bright, nor do bad grades equal not bright. With all the cliches in your comment, I am surprised you missed that one.
  • UltramegaOK, on 06/19/2008, -4/+45A kid tried this exact same thing once at my school (downloading software for remote control + changing grades). The FBI actually came to our school and took him out for questioning. I'm not sure if he was arrested but it was pretty exciting.

    It's been a few years since I've been in high school, but wasn't the first message when you logged on something like "This is federal property .... BLAH BLAH BLAH.... punishable by 7 years in jail and or a $250,000 fine"???

    I don't know if this is the same for every district.
    • fuhcough, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8dunno how many schools have anything FEDERALLY funded.
      • colin8651, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Schools are the States job, I though people worked hard to make it that way.
      • NodOfficer, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Is the school a DoD affiliated institution?

        The penalities for hacking there are obviously more strict.
    • PhoenixReborn, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Our computers sure as hell didn't. I think we had some terms of use to sign at the beginning of the year but I don't remember anything about jail time and fines. 38 years is *****. Unless this kid is a repeat offender he shouldn't have anything more than a black spot on his record. That's enough to make sure he stays out of most good schools. Does he really need four decades of his life taken away?
  • singh55, on 06/19/2008, -20/+11hahaha what an amateur!!
    • hollycowlman, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2Yeah he's got a bright career in front of him as a CEO or could be good at trading stocks
    • InvisibleInk, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1hahaha what an impostor!
  • granolajoe, on 06/19/2008, -8/+14438 years? A whole life wasted over a brief moment in which arrogance, impulse and stupidity ruled over a teenage kid's brain
    • BOFH2, on 06/19/2008, -11/+4There are consequences in life. 38 years is the full extent I am not sure he will get that.
      • DangerMouse9, on 06/19/2008, -2/+1If you were tried to the fullest extent of the law for every stupid thing you did, you'd be singing a different tune.

        The kid should just be expelled for a semester.
    • h3llscaper, on 06/19/2008, -11/+6Life wasted? I think not. If anything this will bring attention to this kid and get him on the fast track to a government position or security profession.

      It's a waste that they want to jail a talented individual based on sloppy code on the part of the school administration.
      • darkmist, on 06/19/2008, -0/+9Why? cause he know how to grab a teacher's password with a keylogger or some skiddie *****? No. Its not that I don't feel sorry for the guy, but changing grades in high school has never been hard. Do you remember any security in your high school computer system (if they had one)? The only hard part is not getting caught.
      • DangerMouse9, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1If he was really as talented and "SMRT" as you're trying to make him out to be he wouldn't have been failing his classes.
        • Hraes, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4And more importantly, if he was smart he wouldn't have gone for all A's. Idiot.
        • Myonosken, on 06/20/2008, -1/+2Which class wouldn't he be failing? Database Access 101? Wtf.
    • paradexes, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3I think that the punishment does not fit the crime. It is overly excessive. That said, I don't think he should be getting saved by MIT or the Govt cutting a deal with him. a year or 2 in juvie should fit this. Murderers get less time than he is. I think the fact that he has a Middle Eastern name is the only reason they are going harsh on him. Don't be surpised when FOX starts railing on him and playing this up as justification for their propaganda machine.
    • PolishLogic, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3A sentence of 38 years is pretty excessive.

      However, when you say "A whole life wasted over a brief moment in which arrogance, impulse and stupidity ruled", well that's usually how a great deal of people end up incarcerated. From murders, to rapes, to mindless and silly pranks that cause the loss of a life. There are countless numbers of cases where one stupid decision, without thought of the consequences, will ***** your life up.
      • DangerMouse9, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4There's a far bit of ***** difference between murder/rape and changing your grades.
        • PolishLogic, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Did you skip the first sentence of my comment?

          Now since you brought it up, do you think that people should have zero accountability for their actions? 69 felony counts for Kahn, and was a repeat offender.

          Hell, there's a bit of a "***** difference" between murder and insider trading, but people spend years in prison for the latter, too.

          Now if you'd care to read a more thorough rundown of this story, you can find it here: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Teen-Hacker-Cou ...

          I doubt you'll give it a second look though. You seem to think he was just being a silly goose.
      • Rambus89, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Someone did not not die when he changed his grades
        • PolishLogic, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2Did I say somebody died because of this? Holy *****, does anyone even read anymore. He did commit 68 felonies, but no...nobody died.

          Now, what I said was: people wind up in jail all the time thanks to "a brief moment in which arrogance, impulse and stupidity ruled". Then I gave examples of such things where "a brief moment in which arrogance, impulse and stupidity ruled". This story is another one of those examples.

          That's all.
    • dvddesign, on 06/19/2008, -1/+6No kidding. He should just have a kid at 18 instead. That'll only ruin the next 18 years of his life.
      • granolajoe, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Now that'd be a funny sentence :D
      • lazyfisherman, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3I sentence you to a court appointed BABY MAMA!
  • bonsomme, on 06/19/2008, -1/+91Maybe he'd be facing less time if he hacked the computers in a less "prestigious" high school?
    • aethelberga, on 06/19/2008, -3/+46Maybe he'd be facing less time if his name wasn't Omar Khan.
    • swraman, on 06/19/2008, -4/+3Yea some kid in my high school got caught doing the same thing, all he got was a F in the class he was trying to change and letters sent out to his colleges.
      But, my shool is in the ghettos of RIverside CA. So there ya go.
    • paradexes, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4I agree with Aethelberga.
    • matu4251, on 06/19/2008, -0/+8or he would be facing less time if he had shot the teacher who gave him a F in the first place. This is ridiculous.
  • Panzwhore, on 06/19/2008, -5/+268you get less time for manslaughter!
    • paradexes, on 06/19/2008, -0/+30Clearly this goes beyond that....it was terrorism....plain and simple.



      /sarcasm (for the morons who think I am serious)
    • countmischief, on 06/19/2008, -0/+41You can't spell manslaughter without laughter!
  • grawity, on 06/19/2008, -5/+146Lamer. What idiot changes F to A and hopes they won't notice?

    I think I should remove that keylogger now...
    • paradexes, on 06/19/2008, -2/+24Omar Khan
    • williane, on 06/19/2008, -0/+17I give him an A for effort.
    • shakajumbo, on 06/19/2008, -1/+11Actually the school didn't notice. The article implies that he had already changed his grades, and had gotten away with it scott free. Apparently, when his app for college was rejected, he asked the school for a copy of his transcripts (dumb move). When they pulled them for him, it was only then that his teachers noticed his grades had been altered, and called the police.

      He must REALLY be kicking himself now. Hopefully he gets out of this thing without completely ruining his future.
      • kingmanic, on 06/19/2008, -6/+4I hope he doesn't get out of this and his future is gone. We need less immoral assholes int he world not more. He's not a good kid gone bad. He's an immoral kid gone 'caught'.
        • lazyfisherman, on 06/19/2008, -2/+3You know.. you kind of have a point. Many people wish they could change their grades.. grades are often unfair.. but.. this kid apparently tried to cheat. And cheaters win far too often.
        • Myonosken, on 06/20/2008, -0/+2Immoral? No hes a stupid kid. We were all stupid kids who did stupid stuff like burning things and playing chicken. This one shouldn't lose his life for ***** up.
    • anillop, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Thats just greedy and stupid. If he changed them to Bs or Cs then they probably wouldn't have noticed.
    • DangerMouse9, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4Wow.. I haven't heard someone called a lamer since the days of AOL and Windows 98.
  • SteelChicken, on 06/19/2008, -8/+49I changed my Geometry grades back in 10th grade or so. The difference? Didn't get caught, and back then if you did get caught you didn't get a harsher sentence than a murderer might get.

    • douce2, on 06/19/2008, -2/+29...and here comes the 38 year sentence for you
      • PeppermintPig, on 06/19/2008, -1/+5Yay for double jeopardy and retro-active punishment!
      • unusualbob, on 06/19/2008, -0/+6statute of limitations..tada!
    • Danby123, on 06/19/2008, -2/+18I'm Telling!
    • Zaneris, on 06/19/2008, -1/+14In 9th grade, I locked our teacher out of the computer system... and bragged about it, and got caught...

      All they made me do was fix it, lol.
    • AngelBunny, on 06/19/2008, -4/+1only the morons get caught
    • yacks, on 06/19/2008, -1/+5bleh.. all I ever did in high school was manually change the clock 10 minutes ahead.. But it was hillarious when the teacher ended the class earlier and the good 5 minute pause while we "waited" for the bell to ring. :) although I was a lab assistant for that same teacher the next year during study hall and changed a few grades manually for a few people.. :) but I wouldn't do anythign absurd like change a 'f' to a 'a'
    • Sniper, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1All I did was change peoples passwords, essentially locking them out of the system :)
    • Kanidia, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Hmm I got a friend who got suspended for getting the master password of the network. But the school wasn't too bright... come on master password is the same as the admin password on every single computer? It takes like 20 seconds to crack LM hashes thanks to Windows' failure security.
  • cheerio, on 06/19/2008, -19/+12Justice is grand. Make idiots look like the idiots they really are and this is all the thanks he gets? District should be happy it was some lonesome teen and not someone with a more malicious intent, like identity theft. Fire your security personnel. But 38 years for a teen who hasn't even finished school? Yep, that's good ol' justice for ya, might as well burn him for witchery too. Seriously though, give the kid probation or a public sanctioned ass whoopin', 38 years is just ridiculous. I could rape your child and get less time then that...TWICE
    • willy1234x1, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2Why are you getting dugg down? You only said the truth about the Justice system.
    • rgranger, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1His english is terrible.
  • brutalentropy, on 06/19/2008, -18/+116"In an alleged plot that resembles the script to the 1986 high school comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off"

    WTF? That was not in that movie *at all*, at least not that I remember. They are confusing this with "Wargames", another Matthew Broderick flick. What shoddy reporting...
    • Jashobeam5, on 06/19/2008, -9/+2They said it resembles the script since Ferris was a high school conartist who lied about everything. The only difference is Ferris didn't get caught.
      • brutalentropy, on 06/19/2008, -2/+6Don't know about that... here's the full quote:

        "In an alleged plot that resembles the script to the 1986 high school comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, prosecutors claim that he then used teachers’ passwords to hack into computers and change his test scores."

        He did nothing of the sort in Ferris Bueller's Day Off... he changed his grades in Wargames.
        • Jashobeam5, on 06/19/2008, -6/+1Yes, I've seen both movies, and I agree that in Wargames grades were changed, but in the other movie Ferris was a conartist in high school, much like this student probably is.
        • MD12, on 06/19/2008, -0/+20In Ferris Bueller he hacked into the school to change his attendence record from 9 absences to 2.
        • palehorse864, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Graaaccceee.... GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCEE!
    • iDiggIt42, on 06/19/2008, -0/+38I think he changed his attendance records at the beginning of FBDO, though, so that may've gotten them confused.
      • BOFH2, on 06/19/2008, -0/+11he did while rooney was on the phone with Ferris's mom.

        Covers the handset - Graaaace! Graaaaaaace!!!
    • raydeen, on 06/19/2008, -1/+47Ferris changed how many days he was absent from school.

      'I asked for a car for my birthday but I got a computer. How's that for being born under a bad sign.'
    • jaymzdean, on 06/19/2008, -3/+15Ferris changed his attendance record.

    • athrasher, on 06/19/2008, -3/+14Ferris Bueller changes his attendance record on the school's computer system from his home computer, so this does sound pretty similar.

      Apparently you don't remember that part.
      • iammzac, on 06/19/2008, -1/+12why did you all just repeat what the previous poster posted..?
        • athrasher, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3There must've been some delay in their posts showing up for some reason, because I didn't see any correct comments when I posted.
        • userperson, on 06/19/2008, -0/+25 minute posting delay. look at when all the replies pertaining to such were posted, they were minutes apart.
          as @athrasher conjectured.
    • colasrtney, on 06/19/2008, -2/+5He, since no one mentioned it yet, Ferris changed his attendance record. In the movie War Games (1983) Broderick played David Lightman, who tried to get in Jennifer Mack's (Ally Sheedy) pants by changing her grades with his computer. She didn't like the idea, but after she left David's bedroom, he changed them anyways.
    • duster805, on 06/19/2008, -6/+2ROONEY'S VOICE
      : Are you also aware that Ferris does not have what we consider an exemplary attendance record?......

      ROONEY'S VOICE
      So far this semester alone, he's been
      absent nine times. Including today.

      JOYCE'S VOICE
      Nine times?

      Under DAYS MISSED we see a number 9 suddenly change to a
      number 2.

    • SlapAyoda, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Actually, go back and watch the movie.

      "My sister got a car for her birthday, I got a computer." It's a quick scene at the beginning of the movie, and he does log into his school's computer and change his class records.
    • Firespray1138, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2That's what I was thinking too, yeah he changed attendance records or something but War Games is where he actually changed a grade.
      • brutalentropy, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Yeah, that's the point I was trying to make :-P
    • TimTheSloth, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1What actually happened is Ferris changed his attendance record (number of days missed) in the movie. Hacking the school system and changing records is the similarity. In war games Broderick's character actually changes grades though.
    • mastersquirrel3, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1No its in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He changes the before he leaves to pick up his friend. He's complaining about how his sister got a car and he only got a computer.
    • allengeer, on 06/20/2008, -0/+4The sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, buds, wasteoids, dweebies and *****, they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude.
    • tehHardcorez, on 06/20/2008, -1/+1PLEASE...we need MORE people to repeat the exact same "he changes attendance" and "computer for birthday" lines!!! There aren't nearly enough in this thread!

      Do you ***** morons read what the moron above you wrote?
  • akkibaba, on 06/19/2008, -3/+29How about we chalk this one up to a teenage indiscretion and give him 5 years probation or something?
    • steelglass06, on 06/19/2008, -2/+10that sounds comletely reasonable to me wtf he's just a kid!
    • tacohead, on 06/19/2008, -2/+12Society doesn't like you thinking rationally.

      Stop it.

      Then, go watch a reality show.

    • shakajumbo, on 06/19/2008, -6/+1except he broke into the school with a stolen copy of the master key. Not that I want to see the kid jakked up, but if you forgive what amounts to a B&E for this guy, what about all the other people who break into homes and businesses. The fact that it's a school.. really just makes it worse in the eyes of the law.

    • aeoo, on 06/20/2008, -0/+15 years? I'd say a month is more than enough. Maybe even just 2 weeks.
  • sgiffy, on 06/19/2008, -7/+61That's probably he maximum he could get. The Brits are rather sensationalistic in their media (even more then us). No jury or judge would sentence him to that. He'll probably get community services, a fine and maybe a few months in jail.
    • AngelBunny, on 06/19/2008, -1/+7brits? this happened in orange county.. you know, the OC? ... LA
      • yacks, on 06/19/2008, -1/+4Haven't you heard? The Brit invaded and took over Orange County.
  • thegreenspanput, on 06/19/2008, -7/+37he should have given himself Cs or Bs tops. Then he'd only face 20 years max.
    • HenvY, on 06/19/2008, -3/+2I lolled, dunno why you're being dugg down.
  • Teck64, on 06/19/2008, -1/+6Stupidity at its fines, Sure we all had those thoughts, I always knew I could do it, but the only thing you can't change is the fact that there is always paperwork and Minds (real paper/real people) that can't be hacked.
    • Danby123, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1There is a fine for stupidity now?
  • franklymister, on 06/19/2008, -1/+27Maybe if they hadn't written the password "PENCIL" right there on the secretary's desk...
    • coyote1284, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4Would you like to play a game?
    • AngelBunny, on 06/19/2008, -2/+1in 3rd grade the password on the server was first SAM then eraser then pencil. what a joke
      • franklymister, on 06/20/2008, -0/+3When I was in 3rd grade, our school didn't have a computer yet, not even in the office. The Apple ][+ wasn't even released until the next year.

        Get off my lawn.
  • sk11, on 06/19/2008, -1/+351Prisoner 1: What are you guys in for?

    Prisoner 2: I'm here for breaking the copy protection on my music CD.

    Prisoner 3: I'm here for smoking a cannabis joint which I took for cancer pain.

    Prisoner 4: I'm here for taking bribes to subvert the law during my time in government.

    * other prisoners gasp *

    Prisoner 4: No, hey, ha ha, I'm kidding. I'm actually here for hacking into my school computer to change my grades.
    • FlyingSpaghetti, on 06/19/2008, -44/+13Prisoner 5: I'm a mass murderer and MS13 gang member. Which one of you nerds wants to get cornholed first?
      • omgsideburns, on 06/19/2008, -5/+5i lol'd. =(
      • kinneas666, on 06/19/2008, -0/+6that makes a good point, even if its quite crude...
      • tacohead, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2Most of the people in US prisons are in for drug offenses. He's not likely to encounter many of your prisoner #5's.
      • yacks, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2The difficult thing about being a mass murderer isn't the murdering part, it's the mass part. It's the pace you have to keep up. The sheer volume of murdering...
      • Rizzler, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1Hey, not ALL mass murderers like taking advantage of other men...
        They're people too!

        /end sarcasm
    • SolidBones, on 06/19/2008, -4/+133Prisoner 5: I raped three women and shot my neighbor, but that's ok. I'm leaving tomorrow.
      • darlyn, on 06/19/2008, -1/+7Even if you're wrong, that is procured a chuckle from me.
    • MrVeal, on 06/19/2008, -15/+0Ok...? Who says cannabis joint? Esp in prinson?
    • paradexes, on 06/19/2008, -1/+5LOL that was great!!

      I remember I went on a Government Studies trip in High School, this trip was to Rykers Island. Not a scared straight program, altho I think the teacher was shooting for that. At any rate this was in 1992. One of the people that was in the prison told us why he was in. He was some high level systems administrator at some company....but got thrown in jail for robbing a store......for some reason I found that oddly funny. And inconsistent.

      Altho considering what IT staff often gets paid for their work in some areas these days(NYC in particular) I am not surprised either.
    • xlneoMAXlx, on 06/19/2008, -2/+6***** THE SYSTEM
  • x5pfif, on 06/19/2008, -4/+29But wait, I was told the terrorists are also hackers. So if this guy is a hacker, doesn't that make him a terrorist?!
    • fearziz, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2According to the movie "Hackers" he is a terrorist and I never did see Jolie naked in that movie like my friend states??
      • Tyrghast, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Well i saw some titty, but no full frontal.
      • paradexes, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2You were not watching close enough. In one seen she is nekkid and in another she wears a see through top.
      • person425, on 06/20/2008, -0/+143:43
    • stanleyford, on 06/19/2008, -0/+4But wait, I was told that giraffes are also mammals. So if a human is a mammal, doesn't that make him a giraffe?!
    • AngelBunny, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3wait until faux news gets a hold of the story.
    • digitalpencil, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1string hm up!!!
    • aptanalogy, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Yes; birds are planes, because birds and planes have wings.
    • person425, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1Hackers penetrate and ravage delicate, private, and publicly owned computer systems, infecting them with viruses and stealing materials for their own ends. These people, they're, they're terrorists.
  • GoKings, on 06/19/2008, -12/+16Seems to me like the kid was pretty damn smart.
    • BOFH2, on 06/19/2008, -0/+12i would say he is average in that department - If he were smarter then he would have not broken in and left evidence -would have not changed F's to A's(who does that?) and has the idiocy to changed a F on a test he got caught cheating on.

      Sorry he has moved from average to stupid with an arrogant streak.
      • ruddy, on 06/19/2008, -2/+6left evidence? he forgot semen on the keyboard? cmon, he keylogged his teachers password! he didn't hack any servers or nothin XP
    • ebzlo, on 06/19/2008, -1/+20The smart ones are the ones we never hear about.
  • Condottieri, on 06/19/2008, -2/+20His maximum sentence is 38 years, because of all the repeated offenses, chances are he's not going to get that long at all. Whats his minimum sentence, couple hundred hours of community service and probation?
    • x5pfif, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1He must also promise never to use the Internets again.
      • ph34k, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0And what does the Internet have to do with hacking?
        Originally hacking was done from the computer you were hacking - as were virus.
    • AngelBunny, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1min is probably at least 5 years in federal prison :/
    • Iztikeit, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0He'll get probation if his record is clean. Colleges probably won't want anything to do with him though.

      Those 38 years are reserved for people breaking into important Government files and what not....He just got unlucky since the school is a federal building. Judges may be assholes but they aren't going to lock this kid away.
    • diemunkiesdie, on 06/21/2008, -0/+1The judge could say that all sentences are served concurrently and he would get out quicker. For example he gets 38 years in jail for all the crimes, but he serves them concurrently and is actually only in jail for six months.
  • dsa202, on 06/19/2008, -13/+41337 h@x0r2!
    • nonsequitor, on 06/19/2008, -1/+5If he was 1337, he would not have gotten caught.
      FAIL
      • akatherder, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1I think that was the point of the "leet speak".
  • FlyingSpaghetti, on 06/19/2008, -1/+80That school truly felt the Wrath of Khan.
    • Kragnerac, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1I'm Captain Kirk.... I'm Captain Kirk, IIIIIIII AM CAPTAIN KIRRRRK!!!
    • Casty, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2KHAAAAAAAAAAAAN
  • str3ama, on 06/19/2008, -1/+12blame War Games, he changed his grades, started and stopped a nuclear war, and got the girl in the end.
  • fmtoffolo, on 06/19/2008, -10/+4type favourite Hackers quote here:

    "Mess with the best, die like the rest. "

    and so on....
    • tuxidomasx, on 06/19/2008, -0/+7Zero Cool? Crashed fifteen hundred and seven computers in one day? Biggest crash in history, front page New York Times August 10th, 1988.

      I thought you was black, man.
      • sblakesley, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2"Spandex: it's a privilege, not a right"
    • coyote1284, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3HACK THE PLANET!
    • druakara, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1 (reading) "Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most."
      "Ozzy Osborne"
      "You. What is your name."
      "uh, Emmanuel Goldstein , sir?"
      "You, however, are not in my class."
      "Woah, this isn't wood shop class?"


      or...
      "Pool on the roof must have a leak."


      or... (last one I promise)

      "Never Fear. I is here."
  • Phipman, on 06/19/2008, -10/+21KHAAAAAAAN!
    • Skooma714, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2That would be funny as hell if pulled pranks regularly and the principal kept calling him in.
  • MyBigRed, on 06/19/2008, -8/+3Fail.
  • grodrigu, on 06/19/2008, -6/+1How has some government agency not offered him a job already? Isn't that the punishment for hacking? Working for the government to stop other hackers.
    • kinneas666, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1only in the movies...
    • kingmanic, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2I'm pretty sure any intelligence agency ought to have more competent people. This is a sloppy script kiddie. You could do what he did (install key logger, steal password, install VNC).
  • Revolutionista, on 06/19/2008, -7/+6Well at least he didn't need to change his computer science grade.
  • machocheese34, on 06/19/2008, -5/+80he could have held his teachers at gunpoint and made them change the grades, and he would probably get less time
    • stubear, on 06/19/2008, -5/+6Jesus ***** christ people, this is the MAXIMUM time he faces should he be found guilty on *69* different charges. Why do you asshats ALWAYS jump in and assume the worst? Read the ***** article and if you don't understand it, shut up or ask some questions but don't comment as if you have an understanding of the issue at hand.
      • pSilociN, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2Jesus ***** christ dude. Can you understand it was a joke?
  • IphtashuFitz, on 06/19/2008, -7/+1I hacked into my highschool computer system just for fun when I was there. This was over a decade ago so things weren't quite the same. I knew better than to change any grades though, and I couldn't have anyway since they weren't stored on the computers. Teachers still relied on old-fashioned pen & paper for that. It didn't stop other students from offering me money to change their grades though.
  • OzzieAlThor, on 06/19/2008, -3/+14Let's hope he doesn't want to play Global Thermal-Nuclear War. Joshua would ***** us all over.
  • plaxx, on 06/19/2008, -13/+15Only because his name is Omar Kahn.
  • burninlover, on 06/19/2008, -5/+6If he was smart enough to do something like that...maybe he should have concentrated more on his grades then he wouldn't have to hack the system to change them. But that's just me. 38 years is a bit too harsh for something like that. Not like he killed someone or something.
    • kingmanic, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1Smart enough to download and double click twice? I pretty certain even high school algebra is harder then that.
  • ZenLa, on 06/19/2008, -1/+8Hasn't the movie slackers taught us anything? Just print your own diploma!
  • Gadren, on 06/19/2008, -0/+99What's the problem? He can just hack in and change the length of his sentence.
    • bocakmak, on 06/19/2008, -2/+2LOL! Fair Point.
    • Zaneris, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5Except that he couldn't hack for the life of him.
    • agentbad, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1We're willing to wipe the slate clean, give you a fresh start. All that we're asking in return is your cooperation in bringing a known terrorist to justice.
      Neo: Yeah. Well, that sounds like a pretty good deal. But I think I may have a better one. How about, I give you the finger
      Neo: and you give me my phone call.
  • xutopia, on 06/19/2008, -9/+5I did worse in high school than he did. Except I never got caught for it.
    • nodong, on 06/19/2008, -0/+6The utter stupidity of your comment makes my brain bleed.
  • Lucas123, on 06/19/2008, -3/+6The last guy who did that had Dabney Coleman all over him and nearly started World War III.
  • byronne, on 06/19/2008, -4/+28Not much of a 'hacker' if you ask me. He stole the teacher's password. Articles like this bring shame upon the term 'hacker', don't they?
    • Jareth86, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Nowadays, hackers bring shame upon the term 'hacker'.
      • Iztikeit, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0Not many people can claim the name. It requires innate and acute understanding of code and engineering. I've never met a stupid hacker, because they don't exist.
  • blatantninja, on 06/19/2008, -0/+39"It could be a long time before Omar Khan goes to college: as long as 38 years, according to Orange County prosecutors, who have arrested and charged the 18-year-old student with breaking into his prestigious high school and hacking into computers to change his test grades from Fs to As."

    F's? Dude wasn't going to college anyway.
    • superkendall, on 06/19/2008, -1/+6They didn't say they figured out how to change the grades back...
    • BadAshe86, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1He could probably still go to community college. I hear if you go there long enough, they let you teach the class.
      • Iztikeit, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0Community colleges aren't that bad.
  • dannyknight, on 06/19/2008, -1/+6I think the most important word in the title of this story is "may". The maximum always sounds harsh.

    That being said, as a student myself, that's absolutely ridiculous. With numerous other kids in his school competing and earning grades legitimately, it's unfair that he would potentially have an advantage over honest kids when getting into college, etc.
    • crazy0, on 06/19/2008, -1/+0ha lol what a happy wonderful honest place your college mustbe..... if he had white skin, believe you me , we wouldnt be hearing about this ....all you gotta do is finance a new building and get it named after you, you're kid can be dumb as a sack of dumbasses and still be kept because of "legacy" BS or other forms of nepotism in todays academics....
      • dannyknight, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Congratulations on successfully turning a non-racial issue into a racial one. This kid is a dishonest liar, no matter what color his skin is.
        • crazy0, on 06/19/2008, -0/+0im not doubting his lying...im denying his white privilege lol thanks for the congrats
      • druakara, on 06/19/2008, -0/+0Actually - that's becoming less common reason for stupid people getting in thanks to Affirmative Action - it seems that due to 'diversity' requirements underachieving lazy minorities are given spots that qualified non-minorities should have gotten. Entrance should be based only on ability and achievement. Race, sex, age, religion, etc should not be a factor in education (or anywhere else for that matter)
        • crazy0, on 06/19/2008, -0/+0im all for that, but then what would the underachieving lazy whites have to blame for their inadequecies and less than stellar accomplishments?
        • druakara, on 06/19/2008, -0/+0Drugs, alcohol, abusive parents, bullies, bad teachers, depression, the list goes on. Lazy people always find an excuse.
    • teethandeyes, on 06/19/2008, -1/+2Pussy. He had the initiative and skills to change his grades. He deserves the A's.
  • netneutrality, on 06/19/2008, -1/+3Now I'm glad I didn't get nearly that far with attempting to hack my school computers.

    (I doubt Irish laws are so severe though!)
  • SaxxonPike, on 06/19/2008, -1/+25Change the grades of someone you hate and send them to jail for 38 years.
  • JacobParker, on 06/19/2008, -15/+9"If convicted on all 69 counts"
    lol 69.
  • BlueStreak69, on 06/19/2008, -7/+3What I don't get is if he is smart enough to hack into his computers grade system, how the hell does he have Fs?
    • byronne, on 06/19/2008, -0/+11Doesn't take brains to steal a teacher's password.
    • aautopsy, on 06/19/2008, -2/+1Just because someone isn't motivated to get grades doesn't mean that they aren't smart. When the time came around to get into college he panicked and changed the grades. Honestly, you'd probably be surprised but kids that get lower grades (B-D) in high school are generally a lot smarter. The smarter you are the less motivation you have to do in school because really, you're not really getting anything out of it and homework sucks. Once those kids get into college and homework grades don't matter they tend to do a lot better and those kids that depended on doing all their homework to get A's drop down to where the other kids were in high school because they aren't quite as smart.
      • 1of42, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1I guarantee you that the kids getting lower grades are in general a lot less intelligent. Absolutely 100% guarantee it. There are outliers - the A student who's dumb as a brick and takes all fluff electives and the smart but lazy C student taking APs - but in general the trend holds and I would be dumbfounded if you could provide anything other than that supposition to back up your opinion.
        • person425, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1First off, I got ***** grades in highschool and college (~2.5), and I stepped into an infosec job that pays over twice as much as my parents' combined salaries.

          I went to a tech highschool populated largely by hackers, but none of us really gave a ***** about our grades. We did what we needed to pass, and spent most of our time on real research. When we owned the school network, we didn't do it to change our grades. We owned the school network so we could bypass the proxy, and the overly restrictive operating system locks on the computer lab machines.

          If this guy is petty enough to want the A, but lazy enough that he doesn't want to get it the normal way, then he is just a dork that has a hard time at thinking things through. Also, he wouldn't be at that school unless his parents were ridiculously wealthy, so I am sure the bail is pocket change. I doubt the kid will even get probation.
        • Iztikeit, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0I agree. Typically the smarter kids will do better, but what kind of smarts are we talking about here?

          Ability to retain knowledge?
          Ability to recognize what is worthwhile knowledge?
          Ability to use knowledge creatively?

          I've been called a "genius" by professors and psychiatrists but I never got perfect grades in high school. (I wouldn't call myself one, but it actually happened) Why waste time on busy work?

          I'm a firm believer that anyone can get a 4.0 anywhere if they really want to. It just seems like no one puts 100% in anything they do, except guitar hero.
      • geodebug, on 06/19/2008, -0/+2I really doubt there is a large mass of geniuses who get below C in high school. The odd case here and there possibly, but we are discussing generalities here right?
      • burdalane, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1Homework grades do matter in college. At least at my university, homework grades made up a large percentage of the final grade in some classes. I know people who depended on their homework to get a decent final grade. At my high school the people with the highest GPAs all took many AP exams, which added points to their GPAs. You had to be able to get a good score on the APs to have a relatively high GPA.
        • Iztikeit, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0My grades in college were 80% dependent upon tests. Homework was only relevant in my Calculus II class. (because that class was so damn difficult without a calculator, he gave us a break)
      • WhiteBoyDunkin, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0Einstien had problems with school. Soooo.......
        • person425, on 06/20/2008, -0/+1And Einstein was a talentless prick. He died trying to disprove quantum theory. Sure, he updated Newton's work, and came up with some nifty math tricks, but in the end, almost all of his theories turned out to be crap. He gets way more credit than he deserves.
        • 1of42, on 06/20/2008, -0/+0So... Einstein had problems with school. That proves nothing except that people can be geniuses and still be bad at school, which is not what he said - he said that people who did worse at school were on average smarter than those who did better in school, which is manifestly incorrect.
    • tendonut, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3You've clearly never watched a teacher enter their grading password into a pretty web-based GUI using one finger at 3 letters a minute.
  • joerod, on 06/19/2008, -7/+2instead of sending him to jail why not employee him, he obviously has some ability. also i give this kid props because every nerd gets the typical "can you change my grades" question and most cant or wont do it, this kid actually came through.
  • username484767, on 06/19/2008, -13/+8He deserves the A's for the smarts it took to hack.
    Or
    HE HACKED THE GIBSON!

    Take your pick. :-)
  • Mononuclear, on 06/19/2008, -1/+10If you add together all the time for each count then the maximum he can get is 38 years. There are 69 counts against him so not even 2 years for each count which seems normal.

    Of course there is no way they are going to give him 38 years. I would be amazed if he got more than 5 years. I think it will be 1-2 years with some probation that he can't go near a computer for another few years.

    Just because by law he could get 38 years doesn't mean he is actually going to get it. The great thing about letting the judge decide the sentence instead of just assigning an arbitrary amount of years to a certain crime.

    This article is just using fear to try and get more views.
    • freshvince, on 06/19/2008, -1/+0i think you meant "not even half a year for each count". and really, if he was only being charged with one count of altering public records, and it were to say carry a 7 month sentence, i don't think anybody here would be up in arms. so is it really that outrageous that he would face 38 years for SIXTY NINE counts?

      that being said, i don't think he'll really end up facing that much time, it would be hard for a judge to justify giving that harsh a sentence to an 18 year old methinks
    • yammy1688, on 06/19/2008, -1/+1The kid shouldn't even get any jail time at all. Suspension + probation is enough. Going to jail could easily ruin the rest of his life.
  • FreeTalkLIve, on 06/19/2008, -0/+5Grab that Axe and HACK me some firewood.

    /lazy kids
  • SaladCactusKing, on 06/19/2008, -0/+3Hey remember that woman who murdered her husband then got probation and custody of her kids back?

    :(

    What the hell is wrong with the justice systems of the world?
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