This Kid Needs to work for a Security Company, Not a prison!

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CLIFTON PARK -- Matthew C. Beighey is a Shenendehowa student with a knack for computers he keeps putting to the wrong uses, police say. 
Last fall, the 16-year-old sophomore was accused of posting personal information on 250 district employees on his personal Web site. And now police say he built an application to shut teachers out of the grading system.

State Police spokeswoman Maureen Tuffey said Beighey was arrested Wednesday and charged with two misdemeanors: unauthorized use of a computer and third-degree identity theft. He was issued an appearance ticket and ordered to return to court Wednesday. His parents could not be reached for comment.

District spokeswoman Kelly DeFeciani said the student never got access to the grading system, but he temporarily blocked teachers' ability to enter grades.

"If I log on with an incorrect password three times, it locks me out," she said. The district's user names all are easily determined based on a specific number of letters from their first and last names, she said. The employees have unique passwords that enable them to access the grading and attendance system.

The student built a computer application using teachers' names that entered false passwords three times, she said, making it impossible for teachers to get into the system. They would then have to call the technical support staff to unfreeze their access.

"We began seeing, at 12 o'clock at night, we'd have a group of teachers locked out," DeFeciani said. "He actually went through and created a user ID and started throwing in random passwords. Teachers weren't able to get in and enter their grades."

Teachers were able to change their passwords and will file year-end grades on time.

The student has been disciplined, although DeFeciani declined to say how or whether he was still able to attend classes. She did not disclose his identity but said he was the same student who had accessed personnel records in October.

The files contained Social Security numbers, drivers' licenses numbers, home addresses and other data on past and present transportation employees, many of them bus drivers.

He was charged with identify theft, a felony, for using another student's identity to access the district's computer system. Beighey was 15 at the time, so his case was referred to Family Court and his name was not publicly released. Tuffey would not discuss the resolution of the earlier case, saying any incident that occurred when Beighey was 15 would be sealed.

At the time of the earlier incident, Beighey informed the district of his own actions through an anonymous e-mail. The data he retrieved accidentally was left on an unsecured part of the computer network.

At the time, the district said the student previously had been disciplined for violating the acceptable use policy for using district computers.

Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.