Podcast

Hackers claim they can edit students' scores

Updated: 2010-07-14 16:05

Hackers are claiming online they can break into computer systems belonging to universities and certification institutes and change the scores of students.

An online search in Chinese of "hackers editing scores" results in dozens of pages of hits. The hackers say they can change students' scores for a price - and charge between a few thousand yuan and more than 10,000 yuan for the illegal service, depending on the majors and universities involved.

A person answering the phone at one such site, who refused to reveal his name, told China Daily he had helped several students. The slogan of his website was: "If you did badly in an examination, come to our hacker team."

When asked whether he could change the score for a failed subject at the University of International Business and Economics, he said it would not be a problem after checking out the university's homepage.

The man was very cautious and asked for the caller's "student number" before he would reveal the price.

According to the hacker, the operation takes between one and five working days and the price for a change to a single subject would be 1,600 yuan. The man claimed his team took care of every detail and would sign a confidentiality agreement with their customers after successfully breaking into the system and changing the score.

"Be careful to keep it secret during the deal," he warned. "If you show off to others, your score could be problematic."

Questions:

1. What were the Chinese keywords used in the search?

2. What university was the hacker asked if he could change a score at?

3. How much was the hacker charging to change a single subject?

Answers:

1. hackers editing scores.

2. University of International Business and Economics.

3. 1,600 yuan.

去聽寫專區一展身手

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

Hackers claim they can edit students' scores

About the broadcaster:

Hackers claim they can edit students' scores

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.