Teen Hacker’s Costly Prank: $14M Fine and 4 Years in the Slammer!
Matthew D. Lane, a 19-year-old from Worcester, was sentenced to four years for a PowerSchool cyberattack. His hacking misadventure breached data of millions of students and teachers, leading to a $14 million restitution bill. Apparently, he skipped the lesson on “don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.”
Hot Take:
Well, Matthew D. Lane, you’ve certainly taken the phrase “hitting the books” to a whole new level. Instead of cramming for finals, you decided to cram millions of students’ personal data into your cyber shopping cart. A+ for effort, but a big F for ethics. Remember, folks, if you’re going to orchestrate a cyberattack, at least wait until you’ve graduated! Four years behind bars is a long time to contemplate the true meaning of “higher education.”
Key Points:
- Matthew Lane, a 19-year-old college student, sentenced to four years for cyberattack on PowerSchool.
- Data breach affected 62.4 million students and 9.5 million teachers worldwide.
- Lane pleaded guilty to charges including unauthorized computer access and cyber extortion.
- Ransom demands were made in Bitcoin, linked to the infamous Shiny Hunters group.
- Texas Attorney General sued PowerSchool for inadequate data protection and misleading practices.