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Good Hacker Gets Bad Grades

By TChris, Section Crime in the News
Posted on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 06:31:28 PM EST
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Why is a high school kid getting D's and F's when he's capable of doing this?

18-year-old Omar Khan should be graduating from high school this week, but instead he faces more than 38 years in prison for hacking into school computers. School officials at the Tesoro High School in Las Flores California allege that Khan changed grades and his Advanced Placement test scores. Khan is also alleged to have installed a remote access program onto school servers. In all, Khan is charged with 69 felonies.
Khan also broke into the principal's office to steal an exam that was taken from him when he was caught cheating.

Kahn is charged with a bucketful of felonies, but the $50,000 cash bail set in his case seem excessive. So far, his parents haven't posted it.

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    Good Hacker Gets Bad Grades | 26 comments (26 topical)

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    Not a Hacker (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by josh10 on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 02:40:26 PM EST
    As a CIO, the fact that this kid keeps getting referred to as a "hacker" is nothing short of hilarious.  Take a look at this comment from the orignial story found here

    He's NOT a hacker!
    Jun 19, 2008 08:21    
    He's just lazy and stupid.

    First off, this idiot goes to the same high-school as me - Tesoro High School. The guy is a total loser who just wastes his time trying to act cool and trying to "party it up" cause his family is relatively well off.

    The "38 years in prison" is just a tagline. He faces that much time in prison because of the 69 seperate counts of felony charges, but he'll probably get a fine and probation and that's about it. (Well, that and getting blacklisted from the major schools that he had no shot of getting into.)

    Secondly, since when has installing a keylogger program on a computer been considered hacking? In which case, we're all "hackers" cause we installed software on our PC. He doesn't know the first thing about programming. He asked me to fix his spyware infested computer on repeated occasions. The guy would get others to do his work for him and pay them off. He even asked people to take the SATs for him! jeez!

    Lastly, he's a lazy idiot. He got caught AFTER he was denied admission to the UCs (yes, he still got rejected with his modified transcripts), when he tried to appeal the decision and have more transcripts sent out - that's when the counselor noticed the discrepency. If he had taken the time to study for the SATs instead, he'd be in by now, even with his terrible GPA.

    What a ridiculous world we live in.

    Amit

    it is very serious (4.50 / 4) (#9)
    by befuddledvoter on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 08:05:07 PM EST
    I think.  There is substantial planning and he disadvantages many honest students by changing his grades and those of his comrades.  This also raises all sorts of privacy issues as he had access to everyone students data.  

    However, 50K bail??  Are they nuts??  Maybe he is a flight risk? I have no idea.  In vacuo seems very excessive. 69 charges? Yikes!  I am sure they have 69 instances of either hacking or grade changes and then God knows what.  

    I hate what he has done.  I don't think of it as a prank at all.  I take it very seriously but the number of charges is ridiculous.    

    What is more serious in my mind (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by Calvados on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 09:40:12 AM EST
    is that there is no outrage against the school system that allowed this to happen.  Protecting the privacy of student records is their responsibility, and they have apparently failed.  

    Who (presumably not named Omar Khan) is being fired because they did not secure the system?  There are not enough laws on the books to punish people who put our privacy at risk.

    We can be sure that if some custodian chose not to lock the school doors (or to secure them with twine), he or she would be fired when a major theft revealed the negligence.  Those who are paid to secure public records deserve nothing different.

    Clearly, the actions of Mr. Khan are criminal, and some punishment is in order, though perhaps not something so excessive.  It is essential, though, that we learn from these crimes and improve the system.

    Parent

    You apologizers are absolutely ridiculous. (4.50 / 2) (#13)
    by pluege on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 09:07:53 PM EST
    the 18 year old legal adult is a cheat, a liar, and a seriously whacked person - he will make a perfect wingnut some day willing to liar, cheat, smear, break the law or anything else to get what he wants; maybe even torture or take away your civil rights if given the opportunity.  

    I kind of agree (3.50 / 2) (#16)
    by befuddledvoter on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 09:24:02 PM EST
    but I think the bail and charges are excessive.  I do indigent defense and I see poor inner city "kids" who are convicted and incaracerated who have done less than this kid.  Inner city kids who are acting in concert with cohorts are usally labeled "gang" members.  There is no public outcry; there is very little sympathy.  This is no victimless crime.  It is white collar and because of that people see it differently.  

    Parent
    69 Felonies?!? Absurd! (4.00 / 4) (#1)
    by Exeter on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 06:35:04 PM EST
    It's a high-tech form of cheating. I think expulsion from high the school would have been more than sufficient punishment.

    Hacker (4.00 / 4) (#10)
    by Pat Johnson on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 08:26:16 PM EST
    He has a job awaiting him at the DNC whenever he gets out.  

    You need only read (4.00 / 2) (#11)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 08:42:12 PM EST
    Bill Gates history to learn that computers and school grades often don't mix.

    Kids get obsessed with computing and skip everything else.  It doesn't mean they're less intelligent.

    Why does he get D's and F's?  Because school might be beneath his intelligence.

    It's not grades, it's ethics. (4.66 / 3) (#18)
    by Fabian on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 10:07:10 PM EST
    If you want a brick and mortar analogy, say some kid could have easily gotten a part time job to buy a shiny new toy he wanted, say a video game or a bike.

    But instead of getting the job and putting in the time and hours, he figures out a subtle way to steal the toy he wants.  He's still taken something that wasn't his.  He essentially broke into community property, vandalized portions of it, stole some things and tried to install a portal so he could continue to do so in the future.  

    It's not playing.  It's deliberate and it is destructive in intent.  (I can't imagine how much money it would take to have a professional audit the records and system to detect and clean up hacks and damage.  A lot of money, I am guessing.)

    I can't agree with throwing the book at him with what information we have.  But I would make what he did and how he did it part of his permanent school record.  So the next time he applies for a job or college, people could see what he did.  

    [IT Security anecdote:

    One supervisor let her subordinates use her login out of sheer laziness. She didn't want to fill out the paperwork to get them their own logins.  Outside of making heads explode in IT, it meant that her subordiantes' work was being logged under her ID.  This was in a hospital, no less.  She was punished.  Part of her punishment was to spend six months working third shift.

    It still makes me want to bang my head against a wall when I think about it.   Good thing none of her employees was an unethical hacker.]

    Parent

    It's not grades, it's ethics. (3.75 / 4) (#19)
    by Gabriele Droz on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 12:00:43 AM EST
    Then again, in order for a young person today to develop ethics, they need not just their parents, but a whole community and their country to model ethics for them.  They don't just inherit them with their genes, and given the fact the most parents these days (except for the very wealthy) have a hard enough time just keeping up with their jobs, housework and shopping, in addition to trying to spending quality time with their kids, the kids rely on what else is around them.

    It's just another sign of our deteriorating society.

    Parent

    Hmmmm. (3.00 / 1) (#15)
    by Montague on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 09:12:28 PM EST
    School beneath his intelligence?  I doubt it.  Bill Gates could have stood to learn a thing or two if he had stuck around.  It's possible to be something of an autodidact even when IN an ordinary school, so that you get the benefit of both spheres.

    In this kid's case, I'd say school was decidedly NOT beneath his ethics.

    Parent

    Omar Khan? (3.66 / 3) (#4)
    by ClareAK on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 07:07:35 PM EST
      Is one of those felonies "having the name Omar Khan"?
      Is there some imaginary terrorism mixed in with this?
       How much money does his family have, anyhow?  I just don't think that any kid from a well-connected (even just on a local level) family wouldn't be able to finesse this.  I mean, your point about his capabilities wouldn't be lost on the right kind of people if he was the right kind of people.    
      Some felonies are more felonious than others, I guess.

      ( O.K. I got carried away there because it poked all my buttons.)

       I agree with the Exeter, who called it for what it was: cheating.
     Expel the brat. That's it.  
     

    Undertones (3.00 / 2) (#5)
    by JimWash08 on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 07:16:45 PM EST
    I wanted to mention that having a name like Omar Khan might have figured into the number of charges, but I clearly forgot. Looks like I wasn't the only one who suspected it. Thanks.

    Seeing that he is now an adult, and with a name that could inspire raised eyebrows and a few thought bubbles, I wouldn't put it past an overzealous legal team for the school board or city to come up with some crazy ideas.

    If so, and we probably would never know, it would be a sad commentary on the times we live in.

    Parent

    He just wants to get into a UC (3.50 / 2) (#12)
    by StevenT on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 08:47:29 PM EST
    I sympathized with him because he wouldn't get caught if he did not ask for another transcript. But all he wants to do is to get into a better college and such. Shouldn't there be any other alternative to handle this case rather than charged him with felonies? I almost went to court when i was 18 for something which i did not do and i know the amount of pressure a court case can bring. This will definitely destroy his youth. Just hope that he will find salvation to get his life back after the trial. Else his whole life will spiral from there.

    I bet this case goes away (1.00 / 1) (#17)
    by befuddledvoter on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 09:26:20 PM EST
    I bet the charges are reduced and most are "filed" and he pleads to a couple and does community service. LOL

    Parent
    True, it's a high-tech form of cheating, and yet.. (3.33 / 3) (#14)
    by Montague on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 09:08:55 PM EST
    The difference as I see it is that he may have caused damage to the entire system, thus corrupting the scores of other students and possibly causing harm to those students when they need their grades and scores for their own applications to college.  

    So that does go beyond old-style cheating.  I'm not sure it should have a bail of 50K, though.  But if I were his parents, I'd be so mad that I would let him cool his heels a bit in the slammer.  I can say this with some impunity because I have permitted an immediate family member to do the same thing when she was trying to get me to spring her after her third OWI.  Sometimes a week in the slammer is all that works.

    Yes I Saw That (3.00 / 2) (#2)
    by squeaky on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 06:58:24 PM EST
    Excessive is an understatement. It is abusive.

    Academic Setting (3.00 / 2) (#3)
    by JimWash08 on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 07:05:59 PM EST
    In no way do I condone the behavior and intent of Mr. Khan, but I've seen quite a few people like him in my time at school.

    Getting Cs, Ds and Fs is by no means, the measure of his intellect. The regimented school/academic environment just isn't for everyone, and given the right tools or opportunities, Mr. Khan would be, in effect, an A-Star student.

    Some of the best artists, singers, chefs, technicians, etc. were often not the brightest kids in the class, but when they had the opportunity, or luck, to prove their skill and craft, they flourished and made wonderful lives for themselves and those around them.

    Having said that, I agree, 69 felonies and the prospect of 38 years behind bars in just too much. Mr. Khan SHOULD BE disciplined, no doubt. Probably with an expulsion, a significant fine and a lengthy sentence of community service.

    And then he should be allowed to pursue his interest and skills, which seem to be squarely in computers and information technology.

    Forgotten facts (3.00 / 2) (#7)
    by StevenT on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 07:48:02 PM EST
    You didn't add the extra bit of information which i think is relevant:
    1. He coordinated this thing with another friend and their IMs chat logs has all the planning and such.
    2. He changed the grades of 14 other friends too.
    3. He was applying for a UC but they requested another transcript, so he went back to his old school to request for one. That is when they found out, wait, how come this C student is getting all As and Bs. That's where the investigation started.

    But i do think this the charges are too excessive. Does Orange County has a huge surplus of budget to waste resources on cases like this?

    Flunked hacking too. (2.00 / 1) (#8)
    by oldpro on Sat Jun 21, 2008 at 07:52:26 PM EST
    The kid's a f#%kup.

    By 18 it might be time for some serious counseling...maybe they're trying to scare him straight.

    kind of a hard lesson (none / 0) (#26)
    by oldpro on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 06:46:40 PM EST
    if it's just for cribbing!

    ...sheesh...it's over the top, of course...

    Parent

    Cheating (none / 0) (#21)
    by laurie on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 08:18:21 AM EST
    IMO about 50% of kids (or maybe only 30%) will cheat if they think they can get away with it.
    Which is why they always have to be informed that there are paper trails, and that those will be checked. (even if there aren't, and they won't be).
    Why not give some of those 38 years to those who permitted all the Caucus cheating this year??
    After all cheating corrupts the whole system...which is why the system needs the best set of checks and balances it can get, and the best anti-cheating guarantees.

    the penal system has to catch up on (none / 0) (#23)
    by thereyougo on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 12:31:24 PM EST
    the generation Y computer "çrimes'. There should be new types of punishments to fit.

    This is the type of crime that should require restitution but not traditional punishment at the grey bar hotel.

    Its too expensive to keep him fed, and housed. Get him  home arrest, let his parents keep supporting the creep, not the taxpayer. work the details at the state legislative level with imput from communities as to how to handle this. Or,make him wear a sign that says I'm a hacker or something. Make him register as a hacker offender on some data base, see if he breaks into that to change it! hahaha....

    Seriously of course we're not going to allow him the use of a computer for the duration of his punishment. He is too young to be with older hard core criminals.

    How to teach kids to do otherwise? (none / 0) (#24)
    by MSS on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 12:37:39 PM EST
    How do we teach kids not to cheat?

    By fortifying the system against cheaters -- paranoid city??
    By publicizing this to students so they will be scared -- teens who consider themselves invulnerable?
    By making it so impossible to get into a state university that students cheat to get a place?

    Is it possible to show kids that they can have a decent experience at school, get decent grades, without cheating, and get into a good college, have a good life?

    PS Our local school administrators -- of the "scare the kids" perspective -- sent this article to teachers and administrators to warn us all to be afraid. Not the solution, in my opinion.

    credential society (none / 0) (#27)
    by diogenes on Sun Jun 22, 2008 at 10:00:54 PM EST
    In our credential-based society, grades and getting into a good college are prizes that cheating helps you get.  I have a nice job today but remember nothing of college physics; thus, whether or not I had cheated on it thirty years ago would be immaterial.  Maybe deemphasizing school grades and using more IQ type (harder to study for) SAT tests like the old SAT would keep high school/college from turning to a grind of brownnnosing and/or cheating for high grades.

    Actually he is a hacker (none / 0) (#28)
    by DoctarYAAR on Wed Jun 25, 2008 at 06:13:29 PM EST
    Whats all this being pissed about this guy being called  a hacker. The truth is most of you would not even know how to install a key logger, including you, Amit. Do you know how to change dates? Porbably not. Thats why your so filled with frustration. To be able to do that at that age requires considerable computer knowledge. He probably spent all his time with computers, that is why he got bad grades.
    If he actually hones his hacking skills, he will probably end up with a top notch job with a security group. If he uses this publicity to his advantage, he may end up making millions. He won't have to do spend 4 years doing pre-MED only to have to go to the Carribean.

    And no he is not fffd up. High school is not that big of a deal. The valedictorians in my high school all ended up as losers in college, not knowing what to do, and spending all their time pondering the meaning of life. While the average guys ended up doing something meaningful.

    Good Hacker Gets Bad Grades | 26 comments (26 topical)

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