A New Jersey school district was vandalized by members of the online mischief making group 4chan after an administrative password to a student record management system used at 160 school systems across New Jersey.
The hack occurred after the administrative account used by the Plainfield, New Jersey, school district to access the Genesis
Student Information System was posted, along with the password needed to access the account: the word ‘poopnugget,’ according to a report on ComputerWorld.
The password was posted to a 4chan message board, and from there, 4chan users
infiltrated the Genesis system wreaking havoc on everything from lunch prices
to the school system’s emergency broadcast system.
The hack was confirmed by a memo
sent from the interim Superintendent, Anna Belin-Pyles. The memo states that there
was an unauthorized breach of the district’s computer systems, but that no
permanent damage was done and no sensitive personal information was
compromised.
That didn’t stop 4chan members from having some fun at Plainfield’s expense. Screenshots from 4chan forums posted in imgur show the manipulation school lunch
prices so all meals cost $9,000, they show the drafting of an emergency
broadcast to be sent to parents district wide with an ad nauseam explanation of
GNU/Linux.
Genesis software
manages student records for 160 school systems across New Jersey.
A spokesperson at the Public Schools of New Jersey was
unavailable for comment at the time of publication.
4chan is an Internet message and image board on which users
often post anonymous content. Initially popular among fans of anime and as the
origin of a number of popular Internet memes. The site has recently come into
the spotlight as a host for anarchical activity and Internet activism as
illustrated by the Gawker
breach and the posting of private emails from Sarah Palin after her email
account was hacked.
