Spanish police arrest student suspected of hacking school system to change grades

Spanish police have reportedly arrested a university student suspected of hacking the local government’s education management system to alter grades and gain access to professors’ emails.

The suspect, a 21-year-old man detained in Seville, allegedly infiltrated the Séneca platform used by schools and universities across Andalusia, Spain’s most populous region. Police said he manipulated his own high-school and university entrance exam grades as well as those of his classmates, El País reported.

The police found that at least 13 professors at universities in Jaén, Córdoba, Seville, Huelva, Cádiz and Almería had their corporate email accounts compromised, including some responsible for preparing next year’s university entrance exams.

The case came to light in March when staff at San Juan Bosco High School in Jaén reported the alleged breach in the Séneca system to police. Officers later searched the suspect’s home in Seville, seizing computer equipment and a notebook containing details of altered grades.

The man faces charges of illegal access to computer systems, identity theft and falsifying documents. Police did not reveal the suspect's identity. Local media reported he was not affiliated with the Jaén school but had a record of similar offences.

The Séneca platform is widely used by teachers, administrators, students and families in Andalusia to manage grades, attendance and enrollment.

Education systems worldwide have increasingly been targeted by hackers. In January, U.S. prosecutors charged a Massachusetts student with breaching PowerSchool, a platform that stores data for more than 60 million students and teachers. In June, Columbia University disclosed a cyberattack that exposed personal data of more than 860,000 people.