By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Haddonfield Sun
Several students were arrested last week and may face federal charges stemming from an incident where they allegedly hacked into several Haddonfield Memorial High School computers.
HMHS Principal Michael Wilson sent a letter home to parents and students in the district, informing them that about 200 of the nearly 2,000 accounts had been accessed by the student hackers.
The Camden County Prosecutor’s office, in conjunction with the Haddonfield Police Department, district technology personnel, faculty and administration are conducting the investigation.
“We are determined to find everyone involved and hold them to the highest degree of the law,” Wilson said in his letter.
The students used a sophisticated “keystroke program” to gain access into the accounts. Wilson said it was limited to a few computers in the HMHS library.
Board of Education President Steve Weinstein addressed the issue at Thursday’s public hearing for the budget.
According to Weinstein, the students used a very sophisticated method to gain information on a number of the accounts.
“Several students hacked into our system. The police have taken over the investigation. It is appropriate to say it was discovered very quickly and changes have been made.
“The system is intact and changes have been made to make the process more difficult,” Weinstein said.
Because the students are juveniles, the district is not releasing their identity. Wilson said he was confident that the district had been able to identify everyone involved.