Utah, USA- One student using a device that messed with various types of school technology has set Grand County High School officials on alert for disruptions in the classroom.
In early January 2024, a teacher at Grand County High School in Moab noticed a bizarre pattern of technology turning on and off in her classroom.
“She would step up to the promethean board and it would turn itself off, she would go back to her computer and it would turn itself back on,” said Grand County High School Principal Dr. Todd Thompson. “She went through a whole 87-minute period and nothing was working.”
The teacher said the unusual activity went on for a few days.
“It completely threw her off, I mean she thought there were ghosts in her classroom. I mean bringing someone to tears, that’s what happened,” Thompson said.
The teacher, who declined to interview with 2News, wasn’t the only victim of this odd behavior involving technology inside of the school.
“We had an employee whose smart phone was destroyed because of it. Even in the office we had computers go on and off,” Thompson said.
He said students were the ones who informed administrators of what was really going on.
“I didn’t know there was a device that strong that could do so much harm to a person, and it really affected our teacher,” he said.
The device being used is known as "Flipper Zero." It’s a handheld device that can be used in a variety of ways, including turning technology within the school on and off.
“We acted and we reacted very quickly, we made sure that that device is no longer on our campus,” Thompson said.
The student was identified quickly, and swift action was taken to make sure the device was no longer in use and impacting teachers, students and staff.
“We want parents to know that when they drop their kids off in the morning or their kids come in and drive onto our campus, that they’re safe," Thompson said.
Before knowing the device was indeed a Flipper Zero that had been the culprit, Thompson reached out to the school’s IT department.
“It’s a very capable device, but it’s a very dangerous device if used in the wrong hands,” said Seamus Hannigan, Network Engineer for the Grand County School District.
Hannigan has been working in IT for two decades and said the initial diagnostic reports didn’t indicate what was truly happening to the select devices in the classroom.
“Quite disconcerting in some ways because of the multiple things that this can do," Hannigan said. "What I feel about the Flipper Zero, it’s a device that actually in itself is harmless but can be used in ways and a lack of knowledge can be a very, very dangerous and damaging thing.”
According to school administrators, a cell phone was permanently damaged by the device and a number of various devices in the school needed to be reset and "hardened" for security measures. However, it’s the impact the student using the Flipper Zero had on teachers and students that did the most damage.
“There will be people that go out and buy this device," Hannigan said. "Please be very careful with how you use it because the impact can be astronomical in terms that you don’t even realize."
Hannigan called the device a "hacking tool."
“I think that those kind of devices, they’re malicious. I don’t know what good intent comes from it, why do they need it?” Thompson said. “I mean we have wonderful teachers here, we have wonderful students here, that’s one of the things (the teacher) wanted me to tell you, that our students are wonderful here, kids that stood up for her.”
Thompson didn't have concern about a copycat scenario at the school given the immediate response from students who stood up for their teacher.
“Disrupting school operations is a class B misdemeanor, so he was able to finish up with that investigation and subsequently charge that individual with that,” said James Blanton, Assistant Police Chief with the Moab City Police Department.
Blanton is referring to a school resource officer who worked the investigation. “This device can be used for good and for bad, obviously this was used for bad.”
School administrators and local police cautioned parents about buying this device for their children.
“Do your due diligence as a parent and protect your kid from these devices, because they can get themselves in trouble,” Blanton said.
The student with the device was disciplined, but not expelled, as indicated in a police search warrant and other reports. The teacher who was impacted returned to the classroom after a rough couple of days.
“A school is a place that is safe, that is important for education and is a place of learning,” Hannigan said. “What we don’t want to do is take away that and put our resources into things that further take us from being able to make sure that the students are able to do their work.”