NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — A major data breach involving the student data platform PowerSchool exposed the personal information of 60 million children and 10 million teachers nationwide last year. In conjunction with ABC News, I've learned the person responsible for the hack was a teenager, raising concerns about children and their online habits.
TEEN HACKER SERVING FEDERAL PRISON SENTENCE AFTER DATA BREACH
Matthew Lane, now 20, was a 19-year-old college freshman at the time of the breach. He used a PowerSchool contractor's stolen credentials that he found online to access the system. He is currently serving a four-year federal prison sentence for the crime.
"I am Matthew Lane. I'm 20 years old at the moment," Lane said. "Yeah, I took their sense of security and being."
PowerSchool manages student data, performance, and attendance records.
"I want to take accountability for everything I've done, for everything I ever did," Lane said. "Not just recently, but for everything I ever did. It was disgusting. It was greedy. It was rooted in my own insecurities. It was wrong."
QUESTIONS REMAIN ON HOW MUCH DATA WAS STOLEN
While Niagara Falls Schools were quiet for spring break, Superintendent Mark Laurrie recalled figuring out the severity of the external data breach last year, which exposed grades, discipline records, and personally identifiable information.
"It's a repository on collecting data on individual students, current and past," Laurrie said.
Laurrie noted it remains unclear how many years of data may have been stolen.
"But as time was clicking, we felt more and more compelled to let anyone who could have been impacted know that this was a possibility," Laurrie said.
According to the Department of Justice, the breach put 60 million children and 10 million teachers at a security risk nationwide. PowerSchool publicly acknowledged it paid a ransom after receiving assurances the stolen data would be deleted. It is unclear how much money was paid.
Lane said he had drug and mental health issues, but found solace playing the popular kids' game Roblox and participating in the game cheating community. He said he has autism and became addicted to hacking.
"It's a very toxic and edgy corner of the internet and like not a lot of people know that," Lane said. "And you realize you're good at this thing that can make you money, in a bad way, it's easy, easy money even though it's dirty. As a young kid you're like I'm gonna do that. And that's how I fell into it."
Roblox says it works closely with law enforcement and other partners to report cyber-enabled crime, explaining it has become an industry-wide challenge.
LAW ENFORCEMENT WARNS OF NEW GENERATION OF YOUNG CYBERCRIMINALS
Law enforcement officials are warning that a new generation of young cybercriminals is emerging.
"I think parents need to understand what their kids are accessing, what platforms they're on, putting barriers up, putting timers on technology," an FBI representative said.
Laurrie said his own students are looking to test limits. He told me a Niagara Falls student hacked one of the district's computer systems used for tracking hall passes to show what he could do.
"Kids are smart. Kids are into this," Laurrie said.
"It's happening in every district and our district isn't immune to that," Laurrie said. "Boy, wouldn't it be good to use those skills and that knowledge to do something much more productive?"
LONDON-BASED GROUP WORKING TO BUILD GENERATION OF ETHICAL HACKERS
A London-based group called "The Hacking Games" is working to build a generation of ethical hackers. The organization tries to show Generation Z that hacking is not the problem, but rather what individuals do with the information. Fergus Hay, The Hacking Games CEO and Co-Founder, said these hackers are often neurodivergent.
"We've got to lean in and we've got to engage with them. They are our future," Hay said. "And if we can get them before they do the bad then we can make a really positive impact."
Lane is now serving his time behind bars.
"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, I'm thankful for them because I would have never stopped," Lane said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.