Two Genius Freshmen Hacked Their High School's Wi-Fi Because They Didn't Want To Take Any Tests

CBS- A hacking scandal has rocked a New Jersey school district. Two tech-savvy teenagers are accused of disabling their high school’s Wi-Fi system. Police said they did it to get out of tests, but now they’re facing charges. Police are calling what happened at Secaucus High School illegal, but also ingenious.

They said two 14-year-old boys — ninth graders — were arrested last Thursday for hacking into the school’s Wi-Fi, making it impossible for teachers to give any tests or teach any lessons that relied on the internet.

“I saw them and I asked them about it and they just … they thought it was funny because they didn’t want to go to school,” Siachandris said.

The school said the system is back up and running. The students were charged with computer criminal activity and conspiracy to commit computer criminal activity.

I’m not sure what type of punishment these kids got for pulling this stunt, but if they got anything more than a few days of lunch detention, it’s a travesty for the American education system. High school shouldn’t simply be about proving you can understand calculus, comprehend physics, or make abstract comparisons between historical events and the monsters of Beowulf. It should also be about problem solving using what is provided to you in the 21st century. These kids had a classic conundrum (not wanting to take a test), and used the tools at their disposal (their brains and the internet) to solve said conundrum. If that isn’t acing the test of life, I don’t know what is.

Now to be honest, I didn’t know Wi-Fi was needed to give tests or take notes. Then again, Wi-Fi wasn’t a thing when I was in high school and the only way we got out of a test is if it snowed 6+ inches overnight. Regardless, what these kids did, outside of give everybody what was likely a much-needed break from tests, was expose a massive flaw not only in their school’s security system but also in their school’s reliance in technology. They should be celebrated, not punished. In fact, if the school had a lick of common sense, they would hire them to help identify future hacking attempts like the FBI hired Frank Abagnale Jr. to identify fraud. Since they are students, you could pay them in school credits or free lunch instead of actual money. But suspending or expelling them would be sending the wrong message to the rest of the go-getters in the school district. And since they not only hacked the school but also gave everyone a Get Out Of Test card, they should be absolved from Freshmen Fridays for the rest of the school year.