Chico State employee charged with hacking, leaking vaccine exemption requests | KRCR
Chico State employee charged with hacking, leaking vaccine exemption requests
by Austin HerbaughThursday, October 21st 2021
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CHICO, Calif. — A Chico State employee has been charged with criminal hacking after officials say he leaked vaccine exemption requests and personal information from some students.
22-year-old Alejandro Benitez is accused of publishing a list of Chico State students who applied for a religious exemption from the university's COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
The spreadsheet posted online included requests from 130 students. Student names and other personal information were listed in 18 of the entries, according to the Butte County District Attorney's Office.
Authorities say that Benitez worked for Chico State's IT department and hacked into multiple computers to access the information. The leaked data first came to light when a Sacramento newspaper wrote an article about the spreadsheet which had been posted to several online forums.
A Chico State professor had alerted the paper in the hopes of protecting affected students from civil rights and privacy violations, according to the DA's Office.
Chico State University Police examined the posted spreadsheet and were able to trace it back to Benitez. He faces upwards of two years in jail if convicted.
by Austin HerbaughThursday, October 21st 2021
UserWay icon for accessibility widget
thumb_92424.png
thumb_92424.png
Facebook Share Icon
Twitter Share Icon
Email Share Icon
CHICO, Calif. — A Chico State employee has been charged with criminal hacking after officials say he leaked vaccine exemption requests and personal information from some students.
22-year-old Alejandro Benitez is accused of publishing a list of Chico State students who applied for a religious exemption from the university's COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
The spreadsheet posted online included requests from 130 students. Student names and other personal information were listed in 18 of the entries, according to the Butte County District Attorney's Office.
Authorities say that Benitez worked for Chico State's IT department and hacked into multiple computers to access the information. The leaked data first came to light when a Sacramento newspaper wrote an article about the spreadsheet which had been posted to several online forums.
A Chico State professor had alerted the paper in the hopes of protecting affected students from civil rights and privacy violations, according to the DA's Office.
Chico State University Police examined the posted spreadsheet and were able to trace it back to Benitez. He faces upwards of two years in jail if convicted.
