Police: Kennesaw State student hacks system, changes grades, steals data

COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Police have arrested a Kennesaw State University student accused of hacking into the school’s system to change grades and steal personal data.

Kennesaw Police say Chase Arthur Hughes illegally accessed the university’s Owl Express program to alter his grades and the grades of four other students. Police say he also stole the personal data of his fellow students and, at least, three professors at the university.

Hughes reportedly used his girlfriend’s Internet to hack the system between May and September.

Using the professor’s professional accounts, police say he examined sensitive information, including employment history, credit, financial and medical information.

Hughes also recorded the usernames and passwords of, at least, 36 faculty members in a notebook officers found in his home.

Police say Hughes also hacked the system and changed grades in two separate classes. He reportedly changed fellow students’ grades from an  "F” to “A” and another from a “C” to “A”.  For himself, police say he upgraded his “B” to an “A.”

Hughes is charged with computer trespassing, computer invasion of privacy and computer forgery.