In a few days, the PowerSchool hacker will learn his sentence, and his life as he has known it will end.

Matthew Lane, the 19-year-old described as a sophisticated cyber attacker by DataBreaches, pleaded guilty on 6 June to one count each of cyber extortion conspiracy, cyber extortion, unauthorized access to protected computers, and aggravated identity theft in relation to the PowerSchool breach. In its sentencing memorandum, the government seeks a total term of 84 months in prison, 36 months’ post-prison supervised release, and more than $14 million in restitution (mostly for PowerSchool), with forfeiture.

The memorandum notes that a 24-month sentence for the identity theft count is mandatory and must be served after the other sentences, not concurrently. DataBreaches emphasises that Lane’s alleged past crimes cannot be considered in sentencing, as he has no convicted history beyond the Victim-1 and Victim-2 incidents for which he pleaded guilty. On 14 October, Lane will learn his final sentence in a Massachusetts courtroom, with the proceedings likely to impact his family as much as or more than him.