Ex-Kennesaw State Student Arrested on Computer Hacking Charges

MARIETTA, GA — A former Kennesaw State student has been arrested on charges that he hacked into the school's system to steal data and change grades.

According to the university, Chase Arthur Hughes was arrested and charged with three felony counts of computer trespassing and related offenses. The university said Hughes turned himself in to the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office on Monday.

Hughes’ arrest follows an investigation by the Kennesaw State Police Department, which began in May
2016, after it was reported that he had accessed the university’s computer system without permission
and altered several students’ grades, including his own.

According to the police report, the incident was detected after a KSU professor received a confirmation
email from the university’s computer system alerting him of a grade change that he did not make. The professor contacted University officials who alerted the KSU police. All altered grades were quickly reverted back to the original posting.

“While the system worked as it should and alerted the professors of the grade changes, additional
measures have been put into place to help further detect unauthorized access,” said KSU Interim Chief
Information Officer Lectra Lawhorne.

A business major with a concentration in finance, Hughes, 19, was enrolled at the university from fall 2015 to summer 2016.

Image via Shutterstock