A 15-year-old who allegedly broke into a school board website before exposing the passwords of 27,000 fellow schoolchildren has been charged with computer hacking offences.

The unnamed Ontario youngster from the Thames Valley area had earlier claimed that he had only carried out the hack to expose the board's weak security.

He said he had purposely chosen to break into the student portal, where marks and timetables were revealed but no changes could be made.

The teen faces four charges, including using a password to commit a computer offence and fraudulently obtaining computing services. Assuming the case proceeds, the youngster is likely to face trial in a juvenile court. ®