A significant data breach has compromised the personal information of thousands of students and their families in the suburbs of Chicago. Surprisingly, the individual responsible for this breach was just 19 years old at the time.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News and the ABC7 I-Team, the young hacker discusses his actions and the emerging issue of “Minor Mayhem: The Hackers of Gen Z.”
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Matthew Lane, now 20, has come forward to take responsibility for infiltrating PowerSchool K-12 Software & Cloud-Based Solutions in 2024.
“I took away their sense of security and stability,” Lane admitted in the interview.
The PowerSchool platform is vital for managing data for students and teachers alike. The breach affected numerous individuals across Illinois, including Elena Cutri, a parent with three children attending schools in Elmhurst District 205.
“We decided to secure our children’s credit information. Then, around December, we received a letter informing us that one of our kids’ information had been compromised,” Cutri explained.
Cutri froze all her children’s credit after the hack. Lane, the Massachusetts man behind that cybercrime, talked to ABC News exclusively before going to prison.
“I was dual majoring in cybersecurity and computer science, and I was hoping to, you know, use those skills for you know non-selfish means,” Lane said.
Lane pleaded guilty to four charges related to unauthorized computer access, identity theft, and cyber extortion. In November 2025, he was sentenced to four years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $14 million in restitution.
“I still have a life after this, and I know that now. Like, I’m mad at myself, obviously, but I’m thankful that I got caught. I’m honestly thankful for the FBI. You know, even the DOJ, like, I’m thankful for them, because I would have never stopped,” Lane said.
Lane is part of what authorities call a concerning trend of young hackers. Some carry out crimes on their own, and others are potentially recruited by criminal organizations on social media or gaming platforms.
While Lane was not believed to have been recruited, court documents say he worked with an unnamed co-conspirator.
“It was one of the worst I’ve seen here 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. And I don’t want to minimize that fact, because this was an open and shut case for us, which is a win for justice and for the victims, but truly, the downrange victims are the ones that will continue to be re-victimized,” said FBI Supervisory Special Agent Doug Domin.
Cutri also weighed in, saying, “On the one hand, it’s a kid. So, you’d like to believe that they may not have fully been aware of what was happening. But on the other hand, it’s still a reality that there’s having this information out there. It could impact families for many years.”
PowerSchool offered two years of credit monitoring and identity protection services to anyone whose information may have been compromised. The company also told the I-Team, “PowerSchool appreciates the efforts of the prosecutors and law enforcement who brought this individual to justice. Since the moment we became aware of this incident, we have remained focused on supporting our school partners and safeguarding student, family, and educator data.”
And on its website, PowerSchool told customers it paid ransom demanded by the hackers “because we believed it to be in the best interest of our customers and the students and communities we serve.”
Court documents suggest the amount sent was close to $3 million in Bitcoin. It is unclear how much of that Lane collected with co-conspirators, but Lane says the financial gains were only part of his motivation to hack.
“But I couldn’t stop. I was addicted to not only drugs, I was addicted to hacking. That gave me the most natural high ever,” Lane said.
We read Lane’s quotes about his regrets aloud to Cutri, saying, “I think I need to go to prison for what I did, and I’m OK with that.”
“I think that sounds like a young man who, in hindsight, wrestles with the situation that he found himself in,” Cutri said.
The FBI says you should keep a close eye on your children’s habits online, especially on gaming platforms. Make sure they are not interested in hacking and warn them of the dangers and consequences.
The FBI says it is still investigating Lane’s co-conspirators.
ABC News will have much more on this investigation into teen hacking, “Minor Mayhem: The Hackers of Gen Z,” on Tuesday on “Good Morning America” and on a special edition of “Nightline.”
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