Education giant PowerSchool hit by major data leak
A recent cyberattack on the education platform PowerSchool has compromised the personal data of millions of students and teachers, raising fresh concerns about cybersecurity in schools.
Education technology provider PowerSchool has suffered a major data breach, exposing the personal information of millions of students and teachers. Hackers gained access to its systems by exploiting stolen credentials, using a tool within the company’s PowerSource support portal to export sensitive data.
The stolen records include names, addresses, and potentially more sensitive details such as Social Security numbers and medical information in the US and Canada. PowerSchool, which manages academic records for over 60 million K-12 students, assured customers that not all users were affected. However, the breach has left schools scrambling to assess the damage.
PowerSchool insists the hack wasn’t due to a flaw in its software but was a result of unauthorised access using legitimate credentials. The company has engaged cybersecurity experts to investigate and taken steps to improve security, including deactivating compromised accounts and strengthening password controls.
Critics argue that PowerSchool was slow to inform customers, potentially putting students, parents, and educators at greater risk of identity theft. While PowerSchool is offering affected users credit monitoring and identity protection services, the incident has sparked calls for stricter regulations on data security in the education sector.