Gates Chili students start ‘Free Ajay’ petition after classmate arrested for hacking school info
On Monday after school, News10NBC met one of Ajay's friends who didn't want to be identified. He showed us the petition on Instagram in support of Ajay and read some of the comments.
"Ajay is good and a smart student and does not deserve this kind of punishment," his friend read off his phone. "#FreeAjay."
News10NBC Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean: "Describe Ajay to me."
Student: "Ajay is a boy scout. He's smart. Very honest."
But here is what Gates Police say he accessed by hacking into the school's system.
- an 85-page report on disciplinary records of 330 students.
- a 590-page report on the schedule of every student.
- a 2,500-page report with personal information on 1,305 high school students.
The police say he did it using a school laptop at his home, so that's where we went Monday. The house in Chili looked empty and no one came to the door when we knocked.
The statement from the district says some private information about students might have been viewed. But it says Social Security numbers were not accessed.
But the complaint by police says the "student detail report" included Social Security numbers, plus immigration information, adoption status, addresses and the GPA of every high school student.
No where in the complaint does it say the information was shared.
Here is the full statement from the school district:
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.
Gloss