PowerSchool hacker sentenced to 4 years in prison
A 19-year-old Massachusetts man who pleaded guilty to hacking the educational technology company PowerSchool was sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday.
Matthew Lane, who demanded a ransom of $2.9 million from PowerSchool in exchange for not leaking personal data belonging to more than 70 million people, also was ordered to pay about $14 million in restitution and a $25,000 fine, according to court filings.
The hack and its aftermath cost PowerSchool more than $14 million, including the expense of identity theft monitoring for victims. Prosecutors had sought a seven-year sentence.
Prosecutors told the judge that Lane acted out of greed and had a long history of hacking.
Personal data, including Social Security numbers, special education status and medical conditions for more than 60 million students and 9 million teachers, were exposed in the hack, which became public in January.
Suzanne Smalley
is a reporter covering privacy, disinformation and cybersecurity policy for The Record. She was previously a cybersecurity reporter at CyberScoop and Reuters. Earlier in her career Suzanne covered the Boston Police Department for the Boston Globe and two presidential campaign cycles for Newsweek. She lives in Washington with her husband and three children.