US EditionMassachusetts 19-year-old pleading guilty to stealing, extorting teacher and student private data
- Matthew Lane, a 19-year-old Massachusetts college student, will plead guilty to hacking education software provider PowerSchool in Worcester federal court.
- In September 2024, Lane gained unauthorized access to PowerSchool's network using credentials belonging to a contractor and exfiltrated sensitive information pertaining to tens of millions of students and educators.
- The breach resulted in ransom demands of nearly $2.85 million in bitcoin, with threats to expose personal details—including full identities, locations, government identification numbers, and confidential information—of millions of students and teachers.
- Lane faces charges including cyber extortion, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access, and admitted the scheme aimed to extort victims into bitcoin payments.
- PowerSchool paid a ransom of approximately $200,000 to prevent data release, while prosecutors identified Lane as the first known perpetrator in this large-scale breach.
38 Articles
38 Articles
A Young Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing and Extorting Private Data From Teachers and Students
A Massachusetts university student will plead guilty to stealing millions of private data from students and professors of two U.S. educational technology companies and extorting them for ransom, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Matthew Lane, a 19-year-old student at the University of Assumption, is accused of using stolen login credentials to access the computer network of a cloud storage and software company that serves school systems in the U.…
Massachusetts college student charged with hacking PowerSchool's system, 2024 NC data breach
A Massachusetts college student has been charged in connection with a data breach involving PowerSchool that contains the private information of millions of teachers and students.
Mass. college student pleads guilty in case tied to hack that exposed NC students, teachers
Matthew Lane, 19, pleaded guilty to hacking the company that stores data for millions of current and former North Carolina public school students, federal prosecutors said. He was charged with cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion and aggravated identity theft.
Massachusetts college student to plead guilty in PowerSchool breach, NC AG says
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A teenage college student from Massachusetts will plead guilty in the 2024 data breach that potentially exposed millions of North Carolina teachers, students, and parents' personal information, North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said Wednesday. The nationwide cybersecurity breach involving the PowerSchool Information System happened in December 2024. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Wake County Public School System affect…
19-year-old pleading guilty to stealing, extorting teacher and student private data in PowerSchool breach
BOSTON, Mass. (AP/QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Massachusetts college student will plead guilty to stealing millions of students' and teachers' private data from two U.S. education tech companies and extorting it for ransom, the U.S. attorney's office said Wednesday. Assumption University student Matthew Lane, 19, is accused of using stolen login credentials to access the computer network of a software and cloud storage company serving school systems in …
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