The grade change was pure luck

They didn't use "strong" passwords in those days.

They didn't use "strong" passwords in those days.

They really didn't have any need for strong passwords in those days. Few people had computers at home, and even fewer had modems. And the fact that he'd have to somehow find the computer phone number and the password in order to do anything probably seemed to be secure enough. Remember, most people in the early 80s, even if they had the equipment available to do what David did, were not computer savvy enough to pull it off.

However, even if they did use strong passwords, like the ones you suggested, they would still need to write it down somewhere at the computer station so that authorized users could find it. While he didn't have enough time to write it down in the scene in the movie, I would think eventually he would have enough time to write down a long multiple character password. Where there's a will, there's always a way.

Lightman gave himeself a C, not an A. Less obvious. He gave the girl an A.

This was the early 80s, home computers weren't as prevalent as they are now. The idea of someone accessing the school's computer from outside of the school were so minuscule that no one even bothered to think about it.

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I am sorry to say but both my middle school and high school districts used shared passwords for everything and it was always something simple because teachers kept forgetting the complicated ones. It was usually like SchoolMascotYear.

When they were experimenting with extra security like strong passwords, teachers couldn't remember them so they'd usually write it down on a post-it somewhere near by.

The way grade recording worked at my old schools was they were manually calculated offline (excel or whatever). At the end of each semester the teachers would submit the final grades to the admin office using some sort of networked app. Once at that office they'd print the report cards and mail them out.

The teachers never get sent a copy of what the admin office printed out. So there is never any final verification. It's a small window of opportunity, but it existed.

This is from the early 90's so not the same time period, but the lazy, absent minded human behavior aspect still existed.

At the end of my senior year I did electronically change my grade in Spanish from a D to a C otherwise I wouldn't have graduated. I'm no genius, just exploited stupid security practices.

Let me just ask how old were you in 1983? It seems that you don't have a clear understanding of computer culture in that time period. Maybe you do but I'm seriously skeptical.

A couple friends of mine and myself were very much into the BBS and hacking culture in the late 80s and I can tell you that everything in the movie is beyond 'plausible.' Default passwords, weak passwords and people leaving what is normally secure information in plain sight weren't just plausible, it was the norm. And social engineering? Mostly a joke to accomplish.

There's a number of resources out there about hacking in the 80s from guys who pulled of some serious hacks. Sure, you had to do research, you weren't just going to fall into it but it wasn't rocket science and if you found people who were willing to mentor you there wasn't that much research to do.