In January 2025, the software company PowerSchool announced it had suffered a data breach. The breach was nationwide, and it impacted several local school districts, including Elkhorn, Bellevue, Creighton Prep and Council Bluffs. The Justice Department said the breach put nearly 70 million people at risk, and the person convicted of the crime was a 19-year-old from Massachusetts. “I was addicted to not only drugs; I was addicted to hacking,” said Matthew Lane, convicted hacker in the PowerSchool breach. “That gave me the most natural high ever.”The FBI Cyber Division in New York said the average age of arrest for a cybercrime is 19 years old. Matthew Lane is now 20 years old. He’s now serving four years in federal prison and has been ordered to pay more than $14 million in restitution for his role in breaching the PowerSchool network in late 2024. ABC News Investigates spoke with Lane two days before he reported to prison. The breach exposed names, social security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and other confidential information of 60 million students and 10 million teachers nationwide, according to the Justice Department. “One of the worst I’ve seen,” said Doug Domin, FBI supervisory special agent. “When you talk about financial impact, and you talk about the forever impact that these students and faculty will have for the rest of their life.””I just messed up in every aspect,” Lane said. “It’s unjustifiable. It’s disgusting. I was so disgusted with myself. I want to take accountability for everything I’ve done.”Lane said he first learned programming around the age of 13 while playing Roblox when he got involved in the “game cheating community.””Honestly, it’s a very toxic and edgy corner of the Internet,” Lane said. Now, Lane said he hopes to convince at least one person not to go down the same path he did. “I want to be a cautionary tale and tell them that you can, you know, divert these to skill,” Lane said. “A skillset you have is a blessing. You should be using it not to take, but to give to the people.”He encouraged parents to set guidelines and have open communication with their kids early on. It’s something Smart Gen Society Lutheran Family Services said is essential. “If they’re really interested in computer programming, that is something that we want to continue to encourage,” said Andrea Neuzil, director of community education and digital wellness for the organization. “But being involved really means that the parents need to become involved.”Neuzil said every child is different and asking questions about their interests, online activity and behavior while creating a personalized digital safety plan can help keep your kids on an ethical path.”When you’re talking about a student who’s really interested in coding, what are you going to do? If someone were to encourage you, what would you do if you saw the vulnerability? How are you going to report that?” Neuzil said. If you’re concerned about your child, Neuzil said to look through their device and investigate unfamiliar applications or programs. “Burp Site or Zap or WPScan that, are also tools that appear in frequent grade changing or school portal abuse or even account takeover that have been used for involving teens,” Neuzil said. Other programs and apps could include Nmap, Zenmap, Masscan, Angry IP Scanner, Metasploit Framework, SQLmap, Hydra/THC Hydra, and John the Ripper, according to Smart Gen Society. “If a parent were to see any sudden behavior changes or unexplained academic improvements, any abrupt grade jump, secrecy around school systems or shifts in any peer groups might be another warning flag,” Neuzil said. “Multiple secret accounts, heavy encryption, cleared histories, or boss screens can go beyond normal teen privacy and signal risky or unethical online behavior.”To learn more about how Smart Gen Society can help you create a digital safety plan for your children, click here. Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
In January 2025, the software company PowerSchool announced it had suffered a data breach. The breach was nationwide, and it impacted several local school districts, including Elkhorn, Bellevue, Creighton Prep and Council Bluffs.
The Justice Department said the breach put nearly 70 million people at risk, and the person convicted of the crime was a 19-year-old from Massachusetts.
“I was addicted to not only drugs; I was addicted to hacking,” said Matthew Lane, convicted hacker in the PowerSchool breach. “That gave me the most natural high ever.”
The FBI Cyber Division in New York said the average age of arrest for a cybercrime is 19 years old.
Matthew Lane is now 20 years old. He’s now serving four years in federal prison and has been ordered to pay more than $14 million in restitution for his role in breaching the PowerSchool network in late 2024.
ABC News Investigates spoke with Lane two days before he reported to prison.
The breach exposed names, social security numbers, dates of birth, addresses and other confidential information of 60 million students and 10 million teachers nationwide, according to the Justice Department.
“One of the worst I’ve seen,” said Doug Domin, FBI supervisory special agent. “When you talk about financial impact, and you talk about the forever impact that these students and faculty will have for the rest of their life.”
“I just messed up in every aspect,” Lane said. “It’s unjustifiable. It’s disgusting. I was so disgusted with myself. I want to take accountability for everything I’ve done.”
Lane said he first learned programming around the age of 13 while playing Roblox when he got involved in the “game cheating community.”
“Honestly, it’s a very toxic and edgy corner of the Internet,” Lane said.
Now, Lane said he hopes to convince at least one person not to go down the same path he did.
“I want to be a cautionary tale and tell them that you can, you know, divert these to skill,” Lane said. “A skillset you have is a blessing. You should be using it not to take, but to give to the people.”
He encouraged parents to set guidelines and have open communication with their kids early on. It’s something Smart Gen Society Lutheran Family Services said is essential.
“If they’re really interested in computer programming, that is something that we want to continue to encourage,” said Andrea Neuzil, director of community education and digital wellness for the organization. “But being involved really means that the parents need to become involved.”
Neuzil said every child is different and asking questions about their interests, online activity and behavior while creating a personalized digital safety plan can help keep your kids on an ethical path.
“When you’re talking about a student who’s really interested in coding, what are you going to do? If someone were to encourage you, what would you do if you saw the vulnerability? How are you going to report that?” Neuzil said.
If you’re concerned about your child, Neuzil said to look through their device and investigate unfamiliar applications or programs.
“Burp Site or Zap or WPScan that, are also tools that appear in frequent grade changing or school portal abuse or even account takeover that have been used for involving teens,” Neuzil said.
Other programs and apps could include Nmap, Zenmap, Masscan, Angry IP Scanner, Metasploit Framework, SQLmap, Hydra/THC Hydra, and John the Ripper, according to Smart Gen Society.
“If a parent were to see any sudden behavior changes or unexplained academic improvements, any abrupt grade jump, secrecy around school systems or shifts in any peer groups might be another warning flag,” Neuzil said. “Multiple secret accounts, heavy encryption, cleared histories, or boss screens can go beyond normal teen privacy and signal risky or unethical online behavior.”
To learn more about how Smart Gen Society can help you create a digital safety plan for your children, click here.
Make sure you can always see the latest news, weather, sports and more from KETV NewsWatch 7 on Google search.
NAVIGATE: Home | Weather | Local News | National | Sports | Newscasts on demand |
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