Student hacks university computer during registration
A University of Texas at Austin college student has been charged with hacking the university’s computer system during its busiest time, registration.
The alleged hack took place last April while students were trying to sign up for classes. According to police, the attack on the university Web site was done from the student’s computer found inside his dorm room.
Garret Phillips, 19, is accused of using a program to flood the server with fake visitors, making it impossible for other students to log on and crashing the system altogether. The registration site was down for three and a half hours.
University police believe the disruption was his only goal. “The type of attack that was launched against the university wasn’t the type to extract any information,” said a University police spokesperson. “They didn’t try to obtain any personal identification information and we have safeguards to keep that from happening.”
The university is taking steps to prevent this from happening again. According to the school’s rules, Phillips does face discipline and his attorney said he’s worried he’ll be kicked out.
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