Grand jury indicts ex-Fresno State students in grades-for-cash hack

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=security&articleId=9045585

By Gregg Keizer
November 05, 2007
Computerworld

Two former Fresno State students were charged last week by a federal
grand jury with hacking into the university's computer network as part
of a grade-changing scheme.

John Escalera, 29, of Fresno, Calif., and Gustavo Razo Jr., 28, of
Pasadena, Calif., were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy, wire
fraud, identity theft and unauthorized computer access, according to an
indictment unsealed last Wednesday. The men face up to 20 years in
prison and fines of up to $250,000 if convicted.

According to the indictment, Escalera worked at Fresno State's computer
help desk and used his access to a PeopleSoft management system program
to hack the password of a supervisor, then used that to obtain full
administrative privileges. Armed with root rights, Escalera was able to
access the usernames and passwords of several people authorized to
change student grades, including the school's registrar and its academic
records coordinator.

"Using this access, the defendant made grade changes from lower grades
to higher grades for himself and later for his friend, Gustavo Razo
Jr.," the indictment said. Several changes were made to both men's
grades in the first half of 2004, but the discrepancies were not noticed
until a routine audit uncovered them in January 2005.
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