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Greece Strikes Deal with OpenAI to Bring AI into Classrooms and Small Businesses

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Greece and OpenAI signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday aimed at expanding access to artificial intelligence in schools and boosting innovation for small businesses. The agreement makes Greece one of the first countries to deploy ChatGPT Edu, a specialized version of ChatGPT tailored for academic institutions.

According to OpenAI, the deal will give Greek secondary schools direct access to advanced AI tools, while startups in healthcare, climate change, education, and the public sector will receive credits and support to build projects with OpenAI’s technology.

The MoU was signed by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Onassis Foundation President Anthony S. Papadimitriou, and OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane. In his remarks, Lehane tied the initiative to Greece’s intellectual heritage: “From Plato’s Academy to Aristotle’s Lyceum—Greece is the historical birthplace of western education. Today, with millions of Greeks using ChatGPT, the country is once again showing its dedication to learning and ideas.”

The deal comes just weeks after OpenAI released GPT-5, its latest model, which is powering the next phase of ChatGPT’s global adoption across education, business, and cultural applications.

Thoma Bravo Prepares $2B Sale of School Safety Firm Raptor Technologies

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Thoma Bravo, a major private equity player with over 70 software companies in its portfolio, is preparing to sell Raptor Technologies, its Houston-based school safety software provider. According to people familiar with the matter, the deal could value Raptor at more than $2 billion. JPMorgan has been tapped to advise on the process, which is expected to begin later this year.

Raptor Technologies develops software for K-12 schools worldwide, offering tools for crisis prevention, emergency response and recovery, and student movement management. Its systems are currently used in 60,000 schools across 55 countries.

The company reportedly generates more than $80 million in EBITDA, making it an attractive acquisition target amid rising demand for school safety technology. In recent years, U.S. schools have increasingly turned to digital safety platforms as violent incidents surge. Data from the K-12 School Shooting Database shows 336 incidents in 2024—just below the record 351 in 2023.

Neither Thoma Bravo, JPMorgan, nor Raptor commented on the potential sale.

Massachusetts Student to Plead Guilty in PowerSchool Data Breach Affecting Millions

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A 19-year-old college student from Massachusetts has agreed to plead guilty to hacking education software provider PowerSchool, in a breach that compromised data on tens of millions of students and teachers. The breach led to ransom demands targeting both the company and individual school districts.

Matthew Lane, a student at Assumption University in Worcester, is accused of stealing sensitive data by gaining unauthorized access to PowerSchool’s systems using login credentials belonging to a contractor. Prosecutors say he then transferred the stolen data to a server hosted in Ukraine in December 2024.

Shortly afterward, PowerSchool received a $2.85 million bitcoin ransom demand threatening to expose names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and other personal details of more than 60 million students and 10 million teachers unless the company complied. PowerSchool disclosed the breach in January 2025 and admitted to paying a ransom to prevent the data from being leaked.

Lane’s case is significant as it is the first time a suspect has been publicly linked to the breach, which impacted PowerSchool — a platform used by over 18,000 schools across North America. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley condemned Lane’s actions, saying they “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.”

Court documents reveal that Lane also conspired in a previous cyber extortion scheme involving a telecommunications company, demanding a $200,000 ransom. He now faces charges of cyber extortion, aggravated identity theft, and unauthorized access to protected computers, carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison.

Lane’s attorney did not comment on the plea deal, and PowerSchool has not disclosed further details beyond confirming ongoing extortion attempts aimed at multiple school districts affected by the breach.