Kutztown 13

Kutztown 13

According to NPR’s Robert Smith, in the town of Kutztown, Pennsylvania, high school students were given laptops computers, to be used at school and at home. Some of the students were able to find the school administrative password, as it was negligently taped on the back of the computers.
They decided to use it to download instant messaging software
and remove the internet filter that was installed, and even more interesting, use
the monitoring software that was installed in the computers, to spy on the school
officials. These actions were contrary to the contract the students and their
parents signed when they received the computers.

After repeated warnings from the school to stop doing these actions which they
weren’t supposed to do, and of the school changing the password, some
students used a password-cracking software to find the new one. As a result 13
students were threatened with juvenile felony charges by the district attorney
after the school officials saw the law as the last resort. The case received a lot of
attention as this incident raises questions if the kids just used something that was
at their disposal, or they should be punished with felony charges that could stay
in their records for the rest of their lives, for hacking into the computers, as
provided by the Pennsylvania state law.

In the end, ten kids accepted offers to do community service, two kids refused the offers, and one did not receive an offer, according to cutusabreak.org.

The incident that happened in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, regarding the high school students, resulting in an attempt to charge them with felonies, is in my opinion a consequence of at least two root problems. One is the negligence of the school about the presence of the passwords on the back of the computers, and the other is the general arrogance and lack of responsibility of our youth these days. True, the school made a mistake by taping the passwords onto the computers not thinking that someone might actually use it, but even after the school changed the password the students still used forbidden ways by the school, like using password-cracking software to get the new password. In addition they downloaded instant-messaging software from the internet and “turned off monitoring function and turned the tables on their elders using it to view administrators’ own computer screens”(Bruce Schneier’s Blog, The Kutztown 13, august 22, 2005). Just because the students knew how to do something does not make it right. It is inexcusable for someone to continue to do something, after he/she was told that it is wrong, and that there will be consequences for his/her actions. The parents did not help the situation either. As adults, they should have encouraged their kids to do the right thing and stop doing things on the computer that were contrary to the documents they signed, when the school gave them the computers.
In addition, what about all the other students who did not hack into their computers? How was it possible for them to refrain themselves from the temptation to use the internet in a manner prohibited by the school, and to spy on the administrators’ computers?
On the other hand, may be the felony charges, that the state of Pennsylvania classifies these types of acts under, do not fit the crime. May be they are too dramatic or intense, but it is the legislature’s job to change the laws. If the kids will take the deals that the prosecutor’s office offered them-like community service-in exchange for dropping the charges, it will be a way for them not to have felony charges on their records, but they will have learned a valuable lesson of responsibility and the respect for authority, in the meantime.

Works Cited

Robert Smith, All Things Considered, Students use Technology Against School
National Public Radio, august 24, 2005
January, 28, 2006

Wired News, Kutztown 13 face felony charges, Associated Press, august 9,2005
January, 28, 2006
< http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68480,00.html>

Bruce Schneier, Schneier on Security, The Kutztown 13, august 22, 2005
January 28, 2006
< http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/08/computer_crime.html>

Andrew Kantor, CyberSpeak, Kutztown kids aren’t the good guys, USA Today,
January 28, 2006

Cutusabreak.org

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