Users of the 4chan online message board managed to get access to the online student information system used by a New Jersey school district after the school's administrative password was posted to 4chan last week. The problem started last Tuesday, according to the Plainfield Board of Education, which serves a small school district just west of Newark. That's when somebody posted a link to the login page and the administrative username ("admin") and password ("poopnugget") of the district's Genesis Student Information System to 4chan, a popular but anarchic message board best known as the place where David Kernell posted details of his break-in of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail account.
The Web-based Genesis software is used by about 160 New Jersey schools to manage their student records and communicate with students and parents.
It's not clear how much damage was caused, but 4chan members soon started posting screenshots showing how they were able to mess with the school's system. One screenshot shows school lunch prices reset to US$9,000 per meal. Another post claims that "every class is now an elective, and requires only 1 credit to graduate."
In another screenshot, it appears as though the 4chan intruder could have sent a message to students and parents using the school's emergency notification system, designed to send text messages and e-mails to parents in the event of a major disaster.
It's not clear whether the message went out, but if it did, parents in Plainfield would have received a technically accurate but tedious lecture on the difference between the Linux kernel and the GNU/Linux operating system.
The district's interim superintendent, Anna Belin-Pyles, confirmed the breach in a statement posted to the district's website on Saturday. There were "unauthorized breaches of one of the District's computer systems in an attempt to vandalize electronic data and to disrupt school district operations," she said.
Although some residents are worried that student records may have been tampered with, Belin-Pyles said that any damage to the system's data was, at worst, only temporary. "There has been no permanent damage to the electronic files and steps are being taken to remedy the situation and further secure the system," she wrote. The school district didn't return calls seeking comment for this story.
Genesis fixed the problem on Wednesday after discovering the stolen password, the company said. On Friday, Genesis posted a brief note offering customers some basic password protection tips.
A criminal investigation into the incident has been opened, Belin-Pyles said.
February 14, 2011
Anon Troll Emails Highschool
Anon just can't seem to stay out of the news. While stories occasionally pop up highlighting the good they can do, such as helping people who are broke afford food or helping track down that girl who drowned some puppies in a river, reports of members DOS attacks and harassment of people are pretty common. Case in point, Matthew Riskin Bean, a 20-year-old member of the community, is getting sent to prison for emailing a Philadelphia high school some dirty pictures of one of its students.
So here's what happened: a high school student (who is now 18-years-old) from the Philadelphia area (known only as "Person No. 1") joined an online chat room in 2003 or 2004. During his time with the chat room, he uploaded some graphic photos of himself, including one of his fully erect penis.
According to court documents, Bean came across the photos thanks to comments on 4chan. He then sent the images to Person No. 1's high school, claiming to be a "concerned mother" of another student. In the email, he claimed that "this sort of behavior [should not be] allowed to run rampant."
How Bean was identified isn't clear, though it's known that school officials forwarded his email on to the authorities. When he talked to FBI in an interview back in September 2009, Bean stated that he and other 4chan members tried to identify Person No. 1. This interview also revealed that participants in the 4chan discussion (though not Bean, apparently) expressed the twisted hope that the student would commit suicide.
Bean was originally facing up to five years of jail time for possession and distribution of child pornography, based on the original charges, but he accepted a plea bargain of stalking. This plea included a sentence of 45 days in a federal prison.
Donald Goldberg, who served as Bean's defense attorney, argued that the jail time could do serious harm to his client, who would likely be a target for sexual predators inside the prison. Goldberg claimed that Bean's arrest was a major wake-up call and that his client is a "shy, very vulnerable young man, who is sweet beyond belief."
So here's what happened: a high school student (who is now 18-years-old) from the Philadelphia area (known only as "Person No. 1") joined an online chat room in 2003 or 2004. During his time with the chat room, he uploaded some graphic photos of himself, including one of his fully erect penis.
According to court documents, Bean came across the photos thanks to comments on 4chan. He then sent the images to Person No. 1's high school, claiming to be a "concerned mother" of another student. In the email, he claimed that "this sort of behavior [should not be] allowed to run rampant."
How Bean was identified isn't clear, though it's known that school officials forwarded his email on to the authorities. When he talked to FBI in an interview back in September 2009, Bean stated that he and other 4chan members tried to identify Person No. 1. This interview also revealed that participants in the 4chan discussion (though not Bean, apparently) expressed the twisted hope that the student would commit suicide.
Bean was originally facing up to five years of jail time for possession and distribution of child pornography, based on the original charges, but he accepted a plea bargain of stalking. This plea included a sentence of 45 days in a federal prison.
Donald Goldberg, who served as Bean's defense attorney, argued that the jail time could do serious harm to his client, who would likely be a target for sexual predators inside the prison. Goldberg claimed that Bean's arrest was a major wake-up call and that his client is a "shy, very vulnerable young man, who is sweet beyond belief."
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