A Purdue University student, who looked like a diligent, hard-working student rarely attended class and still managed to get A’s. How did this happen? Roy Sun found it easier to hack into a computer than to attend classes and study for exams. After breaking into his professor’s office, he installed a keystroke logger so that he can intercept his professor’s login details.
From the comfort of his home, Sun turn his F’s into A’s a few minutes before the Professor submitted the grades. Sun was sentenced for three months to jail for his misdemeanor.
University grade hacking is a worrisome phenomenon. The incident above is not a rare occurrence, many college students in fear of failure or an unwillingness to study, resort to illegal activities like college system hacking to change their grades.
Sun’s story emphasizes the existing vulnerability and inability to completely protect sensitive information and intellectual property. Some individuals will always try to “game the system”. Flawed firewalls, lack of efficient computer security, and human error prove to be too tempting for hackers to overlook.
Hackers intercept exam papers and sell them to fellow classmates for a fee; students change their grades so that they won’t need to study at all. Cyber or hacking incidents at college networks are growing fast while there is no standardized course of action to deal with them.
Universities need to take a comprehensive approach to dealing with these issues, especially since hacking activities are more likely to become more frequent.
ProctorFree provides cutting-edge exam proctoring services that deter divergent behavior in students and employees. By employing facial recognition technology, and continuous identity verification, ProctorFree ensures the students accessing online content and taking exams are who they’re supposed to be.