ILLINOIS ARRESTS MADE IN SCHOOL COMPUTER THEFT RELATED ISSUENews - Schaumburg ReviewConant students arrested for computer theft
BY PATRICK CORCORAN
STAFF WRITER

A trio of students at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates were arrested last month for using stolen school computers to hack into areas of the school's database where staff e-mail accounts and exams are stored.

The students, who were arrested Jan. 21 following an investigation that linked them to the stolen computers, apparently used passwords on the computers' hard-drive to hack into faculty e-lockers, secured electronic data storage areas used by the high school's teachers and administrators, police and school officials said.

Tom Petersen, High School District 211 communications coordinator, said teachers and other staff members spent weeks tracking down the missing information and the people who accessed it.

"While I can't go into detail about what was taken, the staff was able to identify what was hacked into and has taken measures to make sure it can't happen again," he said.