College boards in a number of provinces have been affected by an information breach involving software program utilized by faculties throughout North America to retailer scholar data.
College boards in a number of provinces have been affected by an information breach involving software program utilized by faculties throughout North America to retailer scholar data.
Ontario’s Toronto, Peel and Durham district faculty boards issued equally worded notices a few “cyber incident” concentrating on PowerSchool, a third-party software that is additionally used to retailer some school-based workers data.
The notices say PowerSchool informed faculty boards in Ontario and elsewhere on Tuesday that it had skilled an information breach between Dec. 22 and 28.
Officers in Ontario, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador say they’re working with PowerSchool to find out the extent of the breach.
PowerSchool, a U.S.-based supplier of cloud software program, says in a press release it has taken “all acceptable steps” to forestall additional unauthorized entry or misuse of the affected information.
The corporate says the incident is “contained,” and it doesn’t anticipate the info might be shared or made public.
The Ontario faculty boards say they’ve notified the Info and Privateness Commissioner of Ontario concerning the incident.
“We all know this information could also be regarding, however please know that we’re doing every thing doable to study extra from PowerSchool about what occurred and can share that data with you,” the Toronto District College Board’s interim director of schooling, Stacey Zucker, wrote Wednesday in an electronic mail to oldsters and guardians.
Edmonton Catholic Faculties posted a letter on-line that it acquired from PowerSchool.
“Our investigation decided that an unauthorized social gathering gained entry to sure PowerSchool Scholar Info System buyer information utilizing a compromised credential, and we remorse to tell you that your information was accessed,” the letter mentioned.
The federal government of Newfoundland and Labrador additionally issued a discover concerning the information breach at PowerSchool, which it mentioned is used within the provincial schooling system from kindergarten to Grade 12. It mentioned “a number of authorities departments” are concerned in figuring out the subsequent steps.
PowerSchool mentioned it’s offering companies to its prospects as traditional because it continues to analyze the info breach.
“We take our duty to guard scholar information privateness and act responsibly as information processors extraordinarily severely,” it mentioned in its assertion.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 8, 2025.
The Canadian Press
