Police seek tutor in O.C. high school student grade-hacking case

Newport Beach police are searching for a 28-year-old tutor suspected of helping a group of Orange County high school students hack into a campus computer system to change grades and access tests.

The private tutor, 28-year-old Timothy Lance Lai of Irvine, is wanted for questioning on suspicion of helping the students at Corona del Mar High School hack into the computer system, but his whereabouts are unknown, police said in a notice issued Thursday.

Lai, who was not affiliated with the district, allegedly showed the students how to hack into the computers by using a device known as a key logger, officials told KTLA-TV.

“They plug this device into the back of the computer, on the keyboard cord, so it’s not even identifiable,” Newport-Mesa Unified School District spokeswoman Laura Boss said. “They leave it there for a week and a half to two weeks, and then they go and retrieve it. What they’re tracking is keystrokes.”

The students could face criminal charges on top of disciplinary action from the school, according to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, the Daily Pilot reported.

“We are shocked and disappointed by the unethical and irresponsible behavior exhibited by the involved students,” Boss said in a statement. “These students made a conscious choice to sidestep the academic rigor of Corona del Mar High School.”

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