Student Charged With Hacking School’s Grade System

Student Charged With Hacking School’s Grade System

Max Read — Student Charged With Hacking School's Grade SystemThis is Tyler Coyner, a student at the University of Nevada in Reno and a technology entrepreneur. His business? Allegedly, hacking into his former high school's computer grading system and changing students' grades for money.

Coyner has been arrested and charged with "conspiracy, theft and computer intrusion," along with 13 other students who were apparently working with him. The details of the "hacking" are sketchy—PC World says he "somehow obtained a password," which could involve almost anything—but the best part of the story isn't about his tech exploits:

Coyner boosted the grades of a dozen students but saved the biggest improvements for himself, police said. He was selected as his school's salutatorian at the 2010 graduation, an honor he never legitimately earned, according to the Nye County Sheriff's Office. The salutatorian honor is usually given to the student with the second-highest marks at graduation.

Coyner, now a student at the University of Nevada in Reno, had a 4.54 grade point average, according to a profile of him in the Pahrump Valley Times, written around the time of his graduation last year.

Black Hat

in contrast, the black hat hacker is considered a criminal and uses his/her skills to break the law

White Hat

considered one of nice guys, a white hat hacker is one who hacks and the informs the owner of the hacking

Hacking run

essentially, a hacking run is a hacking session that lasts longer than normal working times, i.e. a hacking run that lasts for in excess of eight to ten hours.

Nuts and Bolts

To know what is computer hacking, one must know their terms. A list of certain significant ones is described below.