(Image source from: Hindustan Times)

An India-origin former student of University of Kansas has been charged with four felonies who acknowledged stealing professor’s computer password to modify his grades.

Varun Sarja, 20, of Olathe,Kansas pleaded guilty for two counts of theft and two counts of unlawful computer acts.

According to the report, Fourteen other felony charges were dropped as of the plea deal.

Kansas University held a hearing to remove him the university after it began investigating the hacking before criminal charges were filed in November 2017.

“With no prior criminal history, Sarja will face probation under the state’s sentencing guidelines and he is scheduled to be sentenced on July 2,” said Kay Huff, Douglas County District Court Judge.

Sarja was studying in KU during 2016-17, when he successfully used a keystroke logger to steal confidential login information and to hack into multiple computers changing F’s and A’s.

When the Judge asked Sarja to explain his wrongdoing, he said, “Quite simply, I used passwords that weren’t mine to change my grades in the University system.”

He further told the Judge that he has completed his sophomore year of college, without specifying where.

As university officials stunned to see his grade A in Math during his academic probation in spring 2017, a KU School of Engineering academic adviser and the Math professor began checking on it.

KU Police later disclosed that Sarja had changed almost all his grades that year, starting in December and stole Teacher’s login credentials to do it.

Sarja told detectives that he love Engineering and wanted to be successful but was scared to his parents he had failed classes.

By Sowmya