Year 11 students expelled for hacking schools IT systems for years undetected

A group of students have been expelled from a Catholic high school after it was discovered they had been hacking an IT system to access sensitive information.

Year 11 students from a Catholic high school have been expelled or have left voluntarily after it was revealed they had been hacking into one of the school’s IT systems to access sensitive information.

At least four students from Corpus Christi College in Perth’s south gained access to an IT system when they were in Year 8 after a teacher displayed their login credentials during a class, The West reported.

The students used the teacher’s details to access their grades before assignments and tests were handed back in class and had collected other student’s addresses.

The system also contained personal information about students such as the health records.

A group of Year 11 students from Corpus Christi College in Perth’s south have been expelled or left voluntarily after it was discovered they had been accessing a school’s IT system to gain information for a number of year’s undetected. Picture: Google

A Catholic Education WA (CEWA) spokesman said they led an extensive investigation with their cybersecurity partner ES2 and the department’s cybersecurity team discovering the security breach in May.

“A small group of students had gained unauthorised access to a single system,” the spokesman said.

“CEWA’s Cyber Security Team identified the method by which students gained access and have taken the appropriate action.”

Education Minister Tony Buti said when major institutions were being hacked around the world it was very challenging for schools to try and protect their IT systems.

Education Minister Tony Buti started his teaching profession at the school said it was a terrible situation, and while schools took IT security seriously it was an incredibly challenging situation.

“We have major institutions around the world that are hacked, so when we have schools that try to protect their IT systems it is very challenging,” he said.

“I am sure that the school is taking the appropriate action.”

He expected to be briefed on the IT challenges faced by schools and said he would consider all options to make IT systems safer in schools.

Originally published as Year 11 students expelled for hacking schools IT systems for years undetected