US: Indian-origin-student gets probation for hacking professors' computers, changing grades
An Indian-origin former university student in the US, who hacked into his professors' computers to change all his 10 grades from "F" to "A", has been granted one-and-a-half years of probation and asked to apologize to his teachers. Varun H Sarja, a former University of Kansas student, pleaded guilty to two counts of identity theft and two counts of unlawful computer acts. Here's more.
14 other felony charges dropped as part of plea deal
"As the prosecutor and his defense attorney had requested in a plea agreement, Sarja of Olathe received a year and a half probation, with an underlying 18-month prison sentence that he could be ordered to serve should he fail at probation," the Lawrence Journal-World reported yesterday. Fourteen other felony charges against him were dropped as part of the plea deal.
Sarja used keystroke logger to steal login information
Sarja was a freshman studying engineering at varsity during the 2016-17 school year, when he successfully used a keystroke logger to steal instructors' confidential login information, hacked into multiple campus computers to change Fs to As. A keylogger is a computer programme that records every keystroke made by a computer user, especially in order to gain fraudulent access to passwords and other confidential information.
Sarja had an 'A' in math during his academic probation
An academic adviser noticed in spring 2017 that Sarja, who was on academic probation at that time, had an A in math and began checking into the situation along with the math professor. An ensuing investigation by Kansas University police revealed that he had changed almost all of his 10 grades that year, starting in December, and stole teachers' login credentials to do it.
Sarja was scared to tell his parents that he failed
Sarja told detectives he loved engineering, wanted to be successful and was scared to tell his parents he had failed classes. The university held a hearing to remove Sarja from the varsity in the summer of 2017.
