A 20-year-old Mississippi man was arrested by FBI agents on Thursday and charged with hacking into the El Paso Independent School District’s computer system last summer.
The FBI arrested Kaleb Harper Ketchens in Meridian, Miss., after he was indicted on March 28 by a federal grand jury on two counts of computer fraud and one count of fraud linked to identification documents, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
If convicted, Ketchens faces up to five years in prison for each count.
Officials said Ketchens was released on $10,000 bond after making an initial appearance Thursday in U.S. Magistrate Court in Meridian. He is scheduled to appear for an arraignment April 19 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norbert Garney in federal court in El Paso.
On Aug. 29, Ketchens allegedly hacked into the EPISD computer system to get names and student identification numbers, which he then posted on an Internet website, officials said.
The security breach was discovered when a computer security company noticed hackers bragging on a website about breaking into the EPISD system. The hackers, using the name “Host Bustorz,” had claimed on the website that they broke into the district’s network but would not post Social Security numbers online.
EPISD officials had said that hackers had broken into the district’s internal network and gained
access to information such as names, birth dates, addresses and Social Security numbers of district employees and students.
“This indictment and arrest demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to vigorously investigate criminal computer intrusions in the El Paso community,” Mark Morgan, special agent in charge of the FBI in El Paso, said in a statement.
The computer security breach caused concerns among school employees, students and parents, and the EPISD urged them to take steps to guard against identity theft.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.
Article source: http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_20337797/el-paso-isd-hacking-suspect-arrested-mississippi?source=rss
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