Latest news with #AssumptionUniversity
The Star
22-05-2025
- The Star
Massachusetts 19-year-old pleading guilty to stealing, extorting teacher and student private data
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 the US and abroad, according to US authorities. — Pixabay BOSTON, Massachusetts: A Massachusetts college student will plead guilty to stealing millions of students' and teachers' private data from two US education tech companies and extorting it for ransom, the US attorney's office said. 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 the US and abroad, according to US Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley. PowerSchool was not named in the court filings, but a source familiar with the case confirmed the company's involvement. According to court records, Lane is then alleged to have threatened the release of 60 million students' and 10 million teachers' names, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, residential addresses and medical histories if the company did not pay a ransom of approximately US$2.85mil (RM 12.14mil) in Bitcoin. Foley said Lane's actions "instilled fear in parents that their kids' information had been leaked into the hands of criminals – all to put a notch in his hacking belt.' An attorney representing Lane didn't return a phone call from The Associated Press requesting comment on May 21. Lane, of Sterling, Mass., faces counts of cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion and unauthorised access to protected computers and aggravated identity theft. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled. Lane is also accused of extorting a US$200,000 (RM 852,499) ransom payment from another telecommunications company last spring by threatening to release customer data. "Matthew Lane apparently thought he found a way to get rich quick, but this 19-year-old now stands accused of hiding behind his keyboard to gain unauthorised access to an education software provider to obtain sensitive data which was used in an attempt to extort millions of dollars,' said Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. – AP
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- The Hindu
U.S. college student pleading guilty to stealing, extorting teacher and student private data
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. 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 the U.S. and abroad, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley. PowerSchool was not named in the court filings, but a source familiar with the case confirmed the company's involvement. According to court records, Lane is then alleged to have threatened the release of 60 million students' and 10 million teachers' names, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, residential addresses and medical histories if the company did not pay a ransom of approximately $2.85 million in Bitcoin. Foley said Lane's actions 'instilled fear in parents that their kids' information had been leaked into the hands of criminals – all to put a notch in his hacking belt.' An attorney representing Lane didn't return a phone call from The Associated Press requesting comment on Wednesday. Lane, of Sterling, Mass., faces counts of cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion and unauthorized access to protected computers and aggravated identity theft. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled. Lane is also accused of extorting a $200,000 ransom payment from another telecommunications company last spring by threatening to release customer data. 'Matthew Lane apparently thought he found a way to get rich quick, but this 19-year-old now stands accused of hiding behind his keyboard to gain unauthorized access to an education software provider to obtain sensitive data which was used in an attempt to extort millions of dollars,' said Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division.
Global News
21-05-2025
- Global News
U.S. college student to plead guilty in hack reportedly tied to PowerSchool
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. 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 the U.S. and abroad, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley. PowerSchool was not named in the court filings, but the Associated Press, Reuters and NBC News, each citing a source familiar with the case, reported the company's involvement. According to court records, Lane is then alleged to have threatened the release of 60 million students' and 10 million teachers' names, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, residential addresses and medical histories if the company did not pay a ransom of approximately $2.85 million in Bitcoin. Story continues below advertisement Multiple school boards across Canada have also been affected by a breach of PowerSchool data, with hackers also demanding ransoms. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Foley said Lane's actions 'instilled fear in parents that their kids' information had been leaked into the hands of criminals – all to put a notch in his hacking belt.' 2:08 Calgary law firm files lawsuit over massive PowerSchool data breach An attorney representing Lane didn't return a phone call from The Associated Press requesting comment on Wednesday. Lane, of Sterling, Mass., faces counts of cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion and unauthorized access to protected computers and aggravated identity theft. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled. Lane is also accused of extorting a $200,000 ransom payment from another telecommunications company last spring by threatening to release customer data. Story continues below advertisement 'Matthew Lane apparently thought he found a way to get rich quick, but this 19-year-old now stands accused of hiding behind his keyboard to gain unauthorized access to an education software provider to obtain sensitive data which was used in an attempt to extort millions of dollars,' said Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. Folsom, California-based PowerSchool disclosed the breach in January. It has said it learned of it on Dec. 28, 2024, and decided to pay a ransom to prevent data from being made public. PowerSchool said earlier this month that multiple school districts have also received extortion demands related to the same data. —With files from Global News and Reuters
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Massachusetts 19-year-old pleading guilty to stealing, extorting teacher and student private data
BOSTON, Mass. (AP) — 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. 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 the U.S. and abroad, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley. PowerSchool was not named in the court filings, but a source familiar with the case confirmed the company's involvement. According to court records, Lane is then alleged to have threatened the release of 60 million students' and 10 million teachers' names, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, residential addresses and medical histories if the company did not pay a ransom of approximately $2.85 million in Bitcoin. Foley said Lane's actions 'instilled fear in parents that their kids' information had been leaked into the hands of criminals – all to put a notch in his hacking belt.' An attorney representing Lane didn't return a phone call from The Associated Press requesting comment on Wednesday. Lane, of Sterling, Mass., faces counts of cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion and unauthorized access to protected computers and aggravated identity theft. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled. Lane is also accused of extorting a $200,000 ransom payment from another telecommunications company last spring by threatening to release customer data. 'Matthew Lane apparently thought he found a way to get rich quick, but this 19-year-old now stands accused of hiding behind his keyboard to gain unauthorized access to an education software provider to obtain sensitive data which was used in an attempt to extort millions of dollars,' said Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division.
21-05-2025
Massachusetts 19-year-old pleading guilty to stealing, extorting teacher and student private data
BOSTON, Mass. -- 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. 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 the U.S. and abroad, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley. PowerSchool was not named in the court filings, but a source familiar with the case confirmed the company's involvement. According to court records, Lane is then alleged to have threatened the release of 60 million students' and 10 million teachers' names, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, residential addresses and medical histories if the company did not pay a ransom of approximately $2.85 million in Bitcoin. Foley said Lane's actions 'instilled fear in parents that their kids' information had been leaked into the hands of criminals – all to put a notch in his hacking belt.' An attorney representing Lane didn't return a phone call from The Associated Press requesting comment on Wednesday. Lane, of Sterling, Mass., faces counts of cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion and unauthorized access to protected computers and aggravated identity theft. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled. Lane is also accused of extorting a $200,000 ransom payment from another telecommunications company last spring by threatening to release customer data. 'Matthew Lane apparently thought he found a way to get rich quick, but this 19-year-old now stands accused of hiding behind his keyboard to gain unauthorized access to an education software provider to obtain sensitive data which was used in an attempt to extort millions of dollars,' said Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division.
