PENDLETON — The Pendleton School District is shoring up its cyber security system after a student gained access to its emails and classroom platforms on Monday, Oct. 12.

Superintendent Chris Fritsch said the student used the district’s email system to send cyberbullying messages to several district students that morning. The district already was looking into the breach when the student hacked into the district again to post pornographic material into virtual classrooms at McKay Creek Elementary School and Sunridge Middle School in the afternoon. Fritsch said teachers noticed the pornography within a minute and removed it from their classrooms.

In an Oct. 13 email to staff, Fritsch discussed some of the consequences the student may face.

“Police will be continuing with their investigation and working with the District Attorney’s Office regarding any charges,” he wrote. “The District, for its part, will be determining the appropriate level of sanctions. The District is still gathering evidence as well and will determine the appropriate course of action once its investigation and review of the facts is completed.”

Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts identified the student as a 13-year-old boy, but he wouldn’t go as far as to call the student’s actions “hacking.”

“Frankly, it’s not overly complex,” Roberts said.

Roberts said the student figured out the pattern to the passwords students were issued to access their emails and digital classrooms. The student then spent hours using the pattern to make educated guesses at what other students’ passwords were.

Roberts said he found out about the incidents Oct. 12, and by the next day, police were able to trace the messages back to the student with the help of the district’s IT contractor, the InterMountain Education Service District. Roberts said police met with the student and his parents, where he admitted to accessing the school’s systems.

Roberts said the district will refer the case to the Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office, but he added the outcomes for youths can vary.

The district now is trying to prevent their system from getting breached again.

In the email to staff, Fritsch said each school would now be able to manually change passwords instead of having to rely on the IMESD IT department. The district also is having students change passwords and reinforcing that all passwords are to remain confidential. Staff also will receive training in how to take additional digital security measures.