Worcester News

Assumption student to plead guilty to hacking, cyber extortion

  • Posted by Worcester News May 20 - Filed in Business - #Worcester  #crime  #Assumption University  #U.S. Attorney  - 7,445 views

    Matthew Lane of Sterling accused of stealing millions of personal records, demanding ransom


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    BOSTON — A 19-year-old college student at Assumption University is expected to plead guilty to a series of federal charges after allegedly hacking 2 U.S. companies, stealing millions of personal records, and attempting to extort ransom payments, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday afternoon.

    Matthew D. Lane of Sterling has agreed to plead guilty to charges including cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion, unauthorized access to protected computers, and aggravated identity theft. A date for the plea hearing has not yet been set.

    According to court filings, Lane and his co-conspirators stole customer data from a telecommunications company and demanded $200,000, threatening to leak the information if the ransom was not paid. When the company questioned the threat’s credibility, Lane allegedly warned, "Stop this nonsense [or] your executives and employees will see the same fate.

    Lane is also accused of using stolen credentials to access a second company—a cloud storage provider for school systems in the U.S. and Canada. Prosecutors allege Lane transferred sensitive student and teacher data to a server in Ukraine, then demanded $2.85 million in Bitcoin or the information — reportedly affecting more than 60 million students and 10 million teachers — would be published online.

    A source told NBC News that the charges are related to the hack of PowerSchool. "The hack of PowerSchool last year is believed to be the largest breach of American children’s sensitive data to date," NBC reported.

    "This defendant stole private information about millions of children and teachers … all to put a notch in his hacking belt," said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley. "The alleged ransoms that this defendant and others like him demand hurt victim companies and their innocent customers."

    Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, added, "This alleged scheme has resulted in serious consequences and highlights the FBI’s ongoing commitment to bringing cyber criminals to justice."

    Each charge of cyber extortion, conspiracy, and unauthorized access carries up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The identity theft charge carries a mandatory 2-year sentence to run consecutively.

    Members of the public concerned about whether student or teacher data was compromised are encouraged to contact their local school districts.

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