Two men from California have wanted to illegally change their grades, but now they face up to 20 years in prison on charges that they have hacked into the state’s university’s PeopleSoft system. This is what it may happen if the people are trying to change their grades! Maybe that in the past the teachers were dull enough or less smart than today, but now it is the high tech security systems that are catching the naughty students.

On the 25h of October 2007 John Escalera, 29 years old, and Gustavo Razo, 28 years, have been charged with using John Escalera’s position from the California State University for gaining illegal access to the university grades database. The two men have been charged with eleven counts on the indictment, which includes identity theft, wire fraud, conspiracy and charges of unauthorized computer access. The two men are facing up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 fines if found guilty and convicted.

However, although the hackers have been charged with identity theft, the university’s staff hasn’t been immediately able to say whether the two men have reached to sensitive information such as social security numbers.

The University had just recently updated its PeopleSoft system from a legacy system known as Student Information Management System / Relational database, but the two men have been caught during a routine audit designed to check the conversion’s accuracy. Bad luck!