

Mom Hacks Into School Computer, Changes Her Kids' Grades - lambersley
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/22/mom-hacks-into-school-computer-system-changes-her-kids-grades/#ixzz21SsLzUZa

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niels_olson
I had a Marine come into my clinic over the weekend, complaining of a head
cold that had lasted for two weeks. His mom came with him. He had a sniffle.
The physical exam screamed viral. The rapid strep test was negative. I advised
my standard care for viral upper respiratory infections. He was fine with that
but looked at me like a whipped puppy while his mom berated me for not
prescribing an antibiotic.

Later, a 35 yo woman with chronic supperative otitis media comes in, she's had
chunks of her skull removed and can't hear out of her right ear because her
eardrum doesn't exist any more, comes in with her dad because she can't drive
due to chronic vestibular dysfunction (she's been dizzy since she was 5). She
is a portrait of misery, holding back tears during the exam, profusely
apologetic for coming in, this is her first infection in 2 years and she's
just in absolute despair because she doesn't want more surgery, and begs for
the antibiotic only because the antibiotic-steroid combo, in her experience,
hurts more and promises she will got to the ER if she gets a headache. Dad
says bip the entire time and thanks me for seeing her on short notice on the
way out the door.

Has this dichotomy always been present in society and I'm just now at the
level where I see it?

~~~
jdietrich
Related anecdote:

For a time, I volunteered for a charity that provided general advice and
support, mainly on issues of welfare, money and debt.

The longer I was there, the more obvious it became that most of the people I
saw were simply fuck-ups. Although a minority simply had bad luck, most of
them were simply unable and unwilling to responsibly manage even the most
basic aspects of their lives. In hindsight, this is completely obvious -
responsible, resourceful people rarely have need to seek help in running their
lives.

Likewise, medics see a completely distorted picture of human health. They see
a grossly disproportionate number of people from the minority of the
population who are hypochondriacs, or have some form of somatoform disorder,
or who chronically abuse their body. Conversely, they only infrequently come
into contact with people who don't like to cause a fuss, or people with
medical phobias.

There is data to suggest that police officers believe that they are much
better than the general population at spotting lies, but are in fact much
worse. The best explanation for this is that police officers habitually deal
with people who are simply very bad at deceit - skilled criminals are rarely
caught, whilst the most incompetent of petty thieves may be arrested several
times a week. Officers believe that they know what a lie looks like because
they are constantly dealing with people who lie, but in fact the only know
what a very bad lie looks like.

~~~
Tloewald
Very interesting stuff about police. Do you have citations?

~~~
astrodust
Many studies have been done about this sort of thing, and I've seen some that
put teachers near the top. Most paint police as average.

Example:
[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6249749/ns/technology_and_scienc...](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6249749/ns/technology_and_science-
science/t/wizards-can-spot-signs-liar/#.UA392itYs08)

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calvinlough
"Hacks" is quite an exaggeration. She worked at the school district as a
secretary and had access to the grading software.

~~~
Auguste
This seems to be the new definition of "hack", just like when somebody "hacks"
into your Facebook account and posts rude messages when they visit your home
and find your phone or computer unlocked.

~~~
calvinlough
I agree, but I would also say that the title was trying to evoke the
traditional meaning.

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username3
_Venusto was arraigned this week on three counts of unlawful use of a computer
and three counts of computer trespassing and altering data._

Are there laws like these for filing cabinets if she changed grades recorded
on paper?

~~~
famousactress
I suppose the analogs would be breaking&entering and fraud? I can't imagine
this crime in the physical world would land someone with six felony charges
though. That's pretty intense.

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activepeanut

      February, 2012, she was accused of changing her son’s 98
      to a 99
    

That's like robbing a bank for a single dollar.

~~~
philip1209
At least robbing a bank for a dollar can have a rational backing [1].

[1]: [http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/nc-man-allegedly-
robs-...](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/nc-man-allegedly-robs-bank-
health-care-jail/story?id=13887040)

~~~
gizmo686
I would say that is closer to hacking the justice system then robbing a bank.
Still, any civilized government should offer all of its citizens at least the
same rights and benefits as that countries criminals.

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wyclif
Not hacking. Not even on the same level as _Wargames_.

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impendia
>State police said she admitted to changing the grades, but thought her
actions were merely unethical— not illegal.

Riiight. I suppose that if 5% of people could possibly believe that, then
.95^12 = .5403... could be worse.

~~~
Tloewald
I'm guessing people who believe something that dumb will be less likely to get
out of jury duty or be excused.

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ngokevin
42 years? That must be more than manslaughter.

~~~
sp332
The reporter just added up the maximum possible sentence for 6 class-3
felonies. This is SOP in reporting on crimes even though there's no way she'll
get that.

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joshlegs
>>According to District Attorney’s office spokeswoman Debbie Garlicki, Venusto
could face up to 42 years in prison or a $90,000 fine if convicted.

Something about that statement just seems absurdly wrong. Maybe it's the 42
years of prison or $90,000 for changing her child's grade.

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drKarl
It reminds me of this xkcd <http://xkcd.com/327/>

~~~
ps258
This one is a bit relevant too. <http://xkcd.com/341/>

~~~
3pt14159
Funny story: Same mom in both comics.

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Tloewald
The mom is a douche, but the prison sentence possible is nuts. I doubt she'd
be up for such a sentence if she'd rammed a stolen truck into the buildings
and changed paper records.

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markyc
hacks or reactivates old account?

