Priya PatelTLDR:
– 18-year-old Klein ISD student charged with a third-degree felony for orchestrating a cyber attack during STAAR testing
– Keontra Lamont Kenemore used school-issued Chromebook to initiate Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks
Summary:
The 18-year-old Klein Forest High School student, Keontra Lamont Kenemore, was charged with a third-degree felony for conducting a cyber attack that disrupted STAAR testing for thousands of students in the district. Kenemore allegedly used his school-issued Chromebook to access sites that initiated Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, causing major internet disruptions during the State Mandated Testing (STAAR). The disruptions affected all campuses district-wide, with about 3,000 students locked out of their tests on the first day. Subsequently, 700 students had to completely retake their tests on the following day due to the online disruption. Kenemore admitted to accessing the websites and utilizing a link creator site to collect IP addresses, which he used on a network stress tester site hosted in Sweden. The site lacked safeguards and appeared to be used in a malicious environment. Kenemore appeared in court and was given a state-appointed lawyer. The incident shed light on the importance of cybersecurity measures in educational institutions to prevent such disruptions in the future.
