Officials: Student hacker hits school computers

BEAUFORT -- At least one student has been accused of allegedly hacking the security codes on Beaufort High School's computers, allowing anyone to change or access the computers' hard drives.

A virus that bypasses the security features that prevent students from installing unwanted software was discovered Jan. 30 by technology department workers, said Beaufort County School District spokesman John Williams.

Williams said more than 400 computers were affected.

About 22 staff members spent a combined 300 hours wiping the virus from the computers' hard drives.

No confidential data were stored on the computers, Williams said.

"To my understanding right now, there was no damage caused to either the data or the hard drives," he said. "But it was a timely and costly process to restore all the computers."

Technology department workers also installed enhanced security software to prevent another hack, he said.

A meeting is planned this week to review the incident and determine whether additional security measures are needed, Williams said.

The Beaufort Police Department's Computer Crimes Division is investigating the incident, Williams said.

Williams could not release the name of the student believed to have helped install the virus.

Lt. Carol Smalls-Jenkins of the Beaufort Police Department said charges have not been filed against the student believed to be responsible because the investigation isn't compete.