Fresno middle school class hacked online with explicit message. District investigating

A seventh-grade online class was hacked Friday morning with an explicit message, Fresno Unified officials confirmed.

The class at Computech Middle School was interrupted around 10 a.m., Trustee Terry Slatic told The Bee. Slatic received a screenshot of the message seen by students in the virtual class that he shared.

The message included a string of profanity, sexual language, and the phrase “go kill yourself.” District officials couldn’t immediately say whether the message was directed at anyone in particular.

Fresno Unified was aware of the incident, and Computech officials were investigating, district spokesperson Amy Idsvoog said in an email. The hacking occurred while the class was using a third-party application and the teacher “immediately” eliminated the hackers’ access, she said.

“The vast majority of engagements occurring in virtual classrooms are positive,” Idsvoog said. “It’s disappointing that someone would feel the need to go to this length to disrupt class. The teacher took the opportunity with the class to discuss digital citizenship and site administration has been in contact with parents.”

Slatic said dozens of parents have told him about multiple incidents of hacking into online classes. He said he didn’t know whether the district had protocols in place to respond to such incidents.

“What is our protocol when students get exposed to stuff they should not be exposed to? Everything needs to be transparent and accountable, and this is an example that is neither transparent or accountable,” Slatic said.

District administration officials did not respond to a question about protocols.

Incidents of hacking and Zoombombing have become a more significant issue for schools around the county, as the coronavirus pandemic forced thousands of schools to move classes online.

These incidents expose one of the many technological challenges in the new era of distance learning.