schools

PowerSchool system hack compromises data of Region One students, staff

FALLS VILLAGE — Region One Superintendent Melony Brady-Shanley announced on Wednesday, Jan. 8, that Region One had experienced a data breach in December 2024.

PowerSchool, a California- based company, holds data from more than 60 million students in North America, according to its website. Its cloud-based system suffered the breach when an unauthorized party gained access to private information.

Brady-Shanley released additional details on Jan. 9, in the form of an emailed letter to all Region One families:

“PowerSchool, our Student Information System provider, has reported that their platform experienced a cybersecurity breach starting on December 22, 2024. According to their officials, an unauthorized party accessed certain PowerSchool SIS customer data using a compromised credential. PowerSchool has assured us that the breach is contained, and there is no ongoing malicious activity.”

“To address the breach, PowerSchool collaborated with a cybersecurity firm to communicate with the threat actor and obtained video evidence confirming the destruction of the compromised files. According to PowerSchool, to the best of their knowledge, the data was not shared or duplicated. As a precaution, they have implemented enhanced security protocols to prevent future incidents.”

In a phone interview Saturday, Jan. 11, the superintendent said the data was “demographic” information such as addresses and phone numbers of students, families and Region One staff.

She reiterated that “to the best of our knowledge” the data has been destroyed.

Asked if Region One will be getting a bill for the cybersecurity firm hired by PowerSchool to deal with the breach, she said no.

She said the breach was part of a much larger international operation.

At the local level, Region One has upgraded its administrative security procedures, she added.

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