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Cops: Mom Hacked School Computer, Changed Grades

Catherine Venusto used passwords obtained as district employee

By the Associated Press

Posted Jul 19, 2012 1:29 PM CDT

(AP) – Well, that's one way to get them into college: A Pennsylvania woman allegedly changed her children's grades after logging into a school computer system using passwords obtained when she worked for the district. Investigators say Catherine Venusto used the Northwestern Lehigh School District superintendent's password to change the grades: She allegedly made one failing grade into a medical exception for her daughter in 2010, while still working for the district, then changed one of her son's grades, bizarrely, from 98% to 99% in February.

State police say Venusto admitted changing the grades, saying she thought her actions were unethical but not illegal. She was arraigned yesterday on a half-dozen felony counts and released on bail.

  (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 14 comments
Mr_Joshua
Jul 20, 2012 6:19 AM CDT
She did not hack anything. She used a password. Big difference. This is a simple IT dept fail !! This is what happens when company's IT departments do not delete passwords for outgoing employees or change existing passwords often enough. As an ex IT manager passwords were the first thing deleted when one of my staff left the company. And you can call me................Mr Joshua
wasntme
Jul 20, 2012 1:57 AM CDT
That is prove that there is at least one parent who cares what grades her children are getting in school. It would have been so much easier to blame it on "Bad Teacher," and go to the Board of Education meeting and demand her childrens teacher be fired. Even if the teacher is union he/she only has about 50% chance of keeping his/her job. They would change those marks the next day. Definitely a better first action in these days of it is not my fault it was that 7th grade math teacher fault for my life problems. Anyone who ever attended school knows that.
LoginsSuck
Jul 19, 2012 3:22 PM CDT
I grade this mom: F+

Copyright 2013 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

 

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