A 13-year-old Benjamin Franklin Middle School student was arrested Thursday for hacking into his school district’s computer system.
On Friday, police confirmed the boy is now in the Porter County Juvenile Detention Center, and has been charged with offense against a computer user.
For weeks, members of Valparaiso Community Schools had reported repeated “cyber attacks” on their e-learning systems. The attacks would regularly disconnect students from their classroom.
Valparaiso police believe the boy is responsible for all of the cyber attacks in the district, and that he was working alone. About 23 percent of the district’s students are learning virtually. The school district is now looking at what can be done to raise defenses against future hacks.