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Faculty: KU student hacked into computers, changed grades

professor Ron Barrett-Gonzalez -photo courtesy KU

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A recent cybersecurity breach has a University of Kansas faculty group concerned that it could lead to other attacks, not just at the university, but across higher education.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that aerospace engineering professor Ron Barrett-Gonzalez says an apparently disgruntled engineering student carried out the hack during the 2016-17 academic year. Barrett-Gonzalez says details of the hack were shared publicly at a School of Engineering Senate meeting last week.

The student in question had allegedly used a keystroke logger to gain faculty members’ login information and passwords and changed his failing grades to As. Keystroke loggers are often used by cybercriminals to steal personal information from public computers and keyboards.

University officials confirmed that a security breach took place but said the attack “was minimal and caught quickly.”

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