Cyber Incident Victim: Shanghai Dianji University
Date:
Mar 2014
Location:
China
Summary
Two students at a college in Shanghai’s Songjiang District hacked their institution’s website to alter physical education scores for themselves and approximately 200 peers after skipping mandatory classes, charging fees between 15 and 20 yuan per unauthorized grade change and accumulating roughly 80,000 yuan in total earnings. The school detected the score manipulations, remediated the website vulnerability, and involved law enforcement, leading to the suspects’ arrest.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
In March 2014, two students at a college in Shanghai's Songjiang District, identified as Chen and Zhang, altered their physical education scores by hacking into the school's website. The students had frequently missed mandatory morning physical education classes and sought to avoid academic penalties for poor attendance. After successfully modifying their own grades, they expanded their operation by offering paid grade-changing services to fellow students. Word spread among the student body about their capability to manipulate academic records, leading approximately 200 peers to solicit their services. Chen and Zhang charged between 15 yuan ($2.40) and 20 yuan ($3.20) per alteration, accumulating approximately 80,000 yuan ($12,845) through these transactions. The school stored student grades digitally, though specific technical details about the compromised system or exploitation methods were not disclosed in public reports. This activity continued undetected until March 2014, when inconsistencies in academic records prompted institutional scrutiny.
College administrators identified unauthorized modifications to physical education scores during routine reviews in March 2014. The institution promptly remediated the security vulnerability that enabled unauthorized database access, though the technical nature of the flaw remained unspecified. Authorities from the Shanghai police were notified and initiated a formal investigation, resulting in the arrest of both students. The incident exposed systemic academic integrity issues, with 200 students implicated in purchasing fraudulent grade changes. While financial impacts were limited to the illicit gains confiscated from the perpetrators, reputational damage affected the institution's academic oversight credibility. The case reflected a broader pattern of academic system compromises, as referenced by a contemporaneous Miami high-school grade-hacking incident disclosed in the same reporting period. Legal proceedings against Chen and Zhang concluded the documented response sequence without further publicized developments.