Law enforcement officials have arrested a student in connection to the cyber attacks that targeted the online school system for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Miami-Dade School Police Department announced the arrest of a 16-year-old student. David Oliveros, a 16-year-old junior at South Miami Senior High was taken at around 2:45 a.m., Thursday.
Officials arrested the teen at his home located in the 40 block of Northwest 59th Court.
According to police the student admitted to orchestrating eight cyber attacks on the schools systems.
This arrest, police said, may be the first of many.
The student has been charged with Computer Use in an Attempt to Defraud, a 3rd degree felony, and Interference with an Education Institution a misdemeanor.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho released a statement that read in part, “It is disheartening that one of our own students has admitted to intentionally causing this kind of disruption, however, I am confident that the M-DCPS family will continue to show its resilience and commitment to education, in the face of adversity.”
Dafne Roque was shocked to learn that an arrest was made on her street.
Like many, Roque’s teens have struggled with the online system.
“It was terrible, because the kid is, you know, passing a lot of work,” said Roque.
Officials said students missing work is part to blame on not just one hacker.
Miami-Dade County Schools Police Chief Edwin Lopez said, “We believe, based upon our investigation, that other attackers are out there. We will not rest until every one of them is caught and brought to justice.”
Miami-Dade Schools Police worked jointly with the FBI, the Secret Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to trace back the IP address of the person responsible for the attack.
Detectives continue their investigation to determine whether anyone else was involved.
Access for students and teachers to virtual classrooms has been spotty. Over the past three days, tens of thousands of students and teachers have been either locked out or bumped out.
At first, district leaders thought their only problem was a glitchy server.
Then on Tuesday, the superintendent was alerted to multiple cyber attacks against the district. Those attacks continued Wednesday.
The teen is set to make his first appearance in juvenile court on Oct. 8.
