A Gates Chili Student is in BIG TIME trouble after being arrested for hacking into the former superintendent's network account.
Kimberle Ward left the school district last December, even though she was set to retire as the superintendent at years end.
It's alleged by investigators that 17-year-old Ajay Bhattacharyya hacked in to her account in February of this year on two separate occasions to access disciplinary records for 330 students and later to access a "Student Detail Report" which had personal information for all students in the district which included Social Security numbers, addresses, emergency contacts and more.
Bhattacharyya is facing charges of computer trespass, identity theft and falsifying business records, all felonies.
Gates Police Chief James VanBrederode says the investigation is ongoing and there may be more arrests.
The district issued the following statement:
As previously communicated to the Gates Chili school community, the Gates Chili Central School District has been investigating unauthorized computer access to privileged portions of its network by students.
Digital forensic experts traced the students’ activities and law enforcement was contacted. As a result of the investigation, the experts concluded that no private information was removed or copied from the district’s network. Some private information may have been viewed by these students.
The digital forensic experts concluded that social security numbers were not accessed. Additionally, there was no manipulation or attempted manipulation of any information.
The district takes this matter very seriously. The actions of the involved students are highly inappropriate and are being addressed. Gates Chili CSD has taken measures to prevent any further unauthorized access.