Massachusetts Student to Plead Guilty in Massive Education Data Theft and Ransom Case

A 19-year-old Massachusetts college student is set to plead guilty for stealing private data of millions of students and teachers from two U.S. education technology firms and demanding ransom, the U.S. attorney’s office announced. Matthew Lane, a student at Assumption University, allegedly used stolen login details to breach the computer systems of a software and cloud storage company serving schools in the U.S. and internationally.
While court documents did not name PowerSchool, a source confirmed its involvement. Lane reportedly threatened to expose personal information—including names, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, addresses, and medical records—of 60 million students and 10 million teachers unless the company paid about $2.85 million in Bitcoin.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley stated that Lane’s actions caused panic among parents fearing their children’s data was in criminal hands, all for personal notoriety. Lane, from Sterling, Massachusetts, faces charges including cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion, unauthorized access to protected computers, and aggravated identity theft. No plea hearing date has been set. He is also accused of extorting $200,000 from a telecommunications firm last spring by threatening to release customer information. FBI Boston’s Acting Special Agent Kimberly Milka condemned Lane’s actions, highlighting his attempt to exploit sensitive data for financial gain.