It’s an all too common story for students. You take a class that grades you based on only a midterm and final. And, as fate would have it, you come down with the bubonic plague for your midterm and SARS for your final. Needless to say, they didn’t go very well. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just push a button and make your grades better? Computers can do almost anything these days, so it doesn’t seem that far-fetched. Well, two teens in California turned fantasy into reality . . . and are now facing felony charges because of it.
Caught in an act that would make Ferris Bueller (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) and David Lightman (WarGames) proud, two high school students from Orange County have been arrested for digitally changing their grades. Omar Khan and Tanvir Singh, both eighteen years old, now stand accused of nearly seventy felony counts of second-degree burglary, computer fraud, identity theft, and falsifying public records, among other charges. It seems that, using stolen credentials, they hacked into their school’s network and changed their grades from D’s and F’s to A’s and B’s.
What I find ironic is that they almost got away with it. Their actions only came to light after Khan, rejected by a school in the University of California system, requested a second transcript from his school, Tesoro High School. A clerk there noticed that his grades seemed unusually high, an investigation was started, and the boys were soon arrested.
Ignoring the fact that this school’s network security stinks, there are some elements of this story that just irritate me. When asked to justify their actions, they said they were frustrated with their grades in Advanced Placement classes. Also, apparently both the gated community where they live, as well as their high school, have been featured on The Real Housewives of Orange County. I am forced to ask: what part of their lives gives them free reign to forge their records?
Is it the tough lives they lead in one of the wealthiest areas of the country? Did Bravo cause them mental anguish by putting their town on television? Or maybe it’s the AP courses they chose to take? I don’t mean to sound bitter, but I take issue with people who try to hide behind wealth or celebrity. They mentioned that they were frustrated with their grades, but who isn’t from time to time? That can’t be a justification to break the law.
Now, that being said, I’m not sure I agree with federal prosecutors either, who are calling for a potential thirty-eight years in prison. I understand the concept of federal laws and the need for deterring this kind of behavior, but thirty-eight years? That’s just a little over the top. There are people who serve less time for murder!
It’s funny how life diverges from the movies. In Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and WarGames, the kids got away with it—no consequences, no problems. Heck, even in Star Trek, Kirk was praised for cheating on the Kobayashi Maru test. I guess the lesson here is “leave this stuff in the movies.”
It truly is a shame they didn’t focus their computer skills toward their studies. But their situation leaves us with an interesting question: where do we go from here? Clearly, we can’t reward their behavior by letting it slide, as that would practically invite copycats. And their break-in wasn’t clever enough to earn them jobs in security at Google or Microsoft. But I also feel it is a little irresponsible to just lock away teenagers who have no previous criminal history. Or should we just blame the parents? Or perhaps the school administrators?
There’s a lot of blame that can be passed around. Any thoughts on where to put it?
Photo credit: foxnews.com
I think the blame should be pinned mostly on the two students because of their own pure ignorance. Seriously, if they didn’t take the AP courses in the first place they wouldn’t need to change their grades thus not getting them into jail for the next 38 years. I do think it is a little outlandish for the court system to put these boys in jail for THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS! That’s just out right ridiculous. I think 10 or 11 years TOPS would be good.
[1] Posted by: CannibalClay26 | June 20th, 2008 at 6:13 pmI think the blame should be spread equally between the Administration and the two boys. I’ve been tempted to change my grades. I almost did, actually. But the only reason I even contemplated the very idea was because I wasn’t challenged in my classes. I take AP classes. I ace all the tests. But I don’t do the homework. Thus my grades are in the C+ to B- range. I don’t feel challenged so I flex my mental muscle with something else. Thus I turned to network penetration testing. The difference between these boys and myself is that they didn’t find the correct outlet. If they had gray hatted instead of black hatting, they would probably been congratulated for their efforts. So it’s as much their fault as it is the administration’s.
[2] Posted by: Twizted666 | June 21st, 2008 at 6:14 pmThese kids are stupid, but they should not deserve jail time. 38 years!?!? 10 years is too much. Give them like 1000 hours of community service and fines. The fact that they will never get a job or get into college is punishment enough.
[3] Posted by: iamthewalrus716 | June 23rd, 2008 at 9:19 amHell i dont blame these kids for what they did, i would have done it too when i was in school if i’d known how to, but that many years locked up….how stupid. Some people get less years for murder. I personally think that they should get some community service, fines and then get on with their lives.
[4] Posted by: WhItNeY_NeLsOn07 | June 23rd, 2008 at 1:41 pmhi……………
[5] Posted by: SuNnY_jaura1 | July 8th, 2008 at 7:30 pm……………whts up buddy????????????????????
The students definitely deserve the blame in this situation.
Why would the school be at fault? Perhaps there weren’t the resources, know-how, or knowledge within the administration to assure the network was safe from kids with too much time on their hands. But when did we start blaming the victims of crime for being victimized?
And the parents? I highly doubt that they were in cahoots with their offspring in this caper. So, why would they share the blame for their children’s unintentionally-serious crimes? Unless you want to judge the parents for obviously indulging their children to the point that they would dare use their Ennui as a justification for crime.
(That is some criminal spoiling there.)
Of course, now that this weakness has been exposed, the school has a responsibility to insure the integrity of their network. And on the same note of resolution, I find reason to object to the Draconian punishment that lies in store for the students.
Thirty-eight years is seriously too much for first time offenders that did not kill, maim, or rape. Here’s to hoping that there are no mandatory sentencing laws for fraud, identity theft, or falsifying public records in the OC.
[6] Posted by: Insert_noun | July 9th, 2008 at 8:23 pmThat is ridiculously high. The key work in this article is “up to” 38 years. Thats if the sentencing was ran concurrently. They’ll make a deal and a majority of the charges will get dropped. More than likely they’ll get a fine and probation. Probably 5 years probation.
[7] Posted by: ronnythegent | July 15th, 2008 at 7:33 pmAll these Goddam kids are really pissin’ me off
They should never see daylight again.
I reckon they need a beatdown, perhaps a little kick to the panties
38 years isn’t enough.
They want justice in the classroom? They don’t know the meaning of justice. To Hell with democracy, I’ve been doing this for 19 years. They need to be taught a lesson.
I’ll show them my man muscle. They’ll run crying.
[8] Posted by: ShmimShmill | August 6th, 2008 at 8:52 pmI believe that the students were wrong for changing their grades, but 38 years is too much. I agree with another comment that was posted. They should have community service or a pushiment that is school related.
[9] Posted by: lildrummer220 | August 24th, 2008 at 12:15 am38 years is too much. Kick it down to 10.
[10] Posted by: DownWeFall666 | August 25th, 2008 at 11:24 amAnd I’m sorry, but these kids were extraordinarily stupid.
They should have known better. What did they think was going to happen to them if they got caught? Maybe they learned to try harder in classes, rather than trying so hard to hack in and change their grades. Or maybe they learned the opposite.
But after 38 years in prison, what would they do? It’s not that easy to pick up where they left off in high school. People make mistakes. Let them fix it and live their lives. I think 38 years is way too long.
[11] Posted by: elixirality | August 27th, 2008 at 1:27 pm38 years is way to long for just changing your grades. I am taking AP classes next year and i would have probably tried to change mine too if i knew how. Community Service is a way better punisment than going to jail.
[12] Posted by: Renegade0816 | August 27th, 2008 at 8:02 pm