Charges against teen hackers reduced to misdemeanors

SYRACUSE - A prosecutor has decided to reduce charges against three high school students accused of hacking into a school district computer system and changing their grades.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick said he agreed to reduce the charges from felony counts to misdemeanors so the young defendants could avoid jail.

In November, police accused six Fayetteville-Manlius High School students and two graduates of using a keylogging device to gain access to the school's computer system, where they were able to capture administrative passwords and change grades. Administrators initially feared that the group may have tampered with hundreds of records, including SAT test scores, but investigators said the group only altered their own records.