Family Communications
Recent Family Communications
Important Update: PowerSchool Data Breach
Dear Canal Winchester Schools Families,
We want to inform you about a recent nationwide data breach affecting PowerSchool, our student information platform provider. PowerSchool notified us of this breach of their system late Tuesday afternoon, and it has impacted many districts across the globe, including several in Ohio. Our Technology Department is working with PowerSchool to assess how this breach affects our data.
We understand how important data security and privacy are. A breach like this can cause concern for students, families, and staff. We are here to support you during this time and want to reassure you of our commitment to safeguarding your privacy and security, whether through PowerSchool or any other platforms we use for our students' learning.
Here's what we know:
About the Breach
PowerSchool reported that an unauthorized party accessed user data using a compromised credential. The breach occurred between December 19 and December 23, and PowerSchool became aware of it on December 28. They report that they have already notified law enforcement, secured their systems, and engaged cybersecurity professionals to detect and prevent any future cyber-attacks and to contain the data accessed in this breach.
About the Data:
PowerSchool says that information about staff and students may have been accessed for some districts. This could include contact information, such as names, addresses, and phone numbers, as well as some health and grade information for students. In almost all instances, Canal Winchester Schools does not retain Social Security numbers for students, and no financial information was part of the breach.
PowerSchool states that they have received "reasonable assurances from the threat actor that the data has been deleted and that no additional copies exist." They do not anticipate the data being shared or made public and believe that it has been deleted without any further replication or dissemination. PowerSchool also stated that they have a video confirming deletion and are actively searching the dark web to confirm as much.
What Happens Next:
While we are still working to determine what additional steps PowerSchool will be taking, it is our understanding that if your student’s data is found to have been impacted, you will receive a separate notification.
PowerSchool has stated that the incident is contained, and they have no evidence of malware or ongoing unauthorized activity in their system. They are not experiencing any operational disruptions and plan to continue providing services to school districts as usual. Families and students can still use their secure credentials to log in to PowerSchool to check grades, see schedules, and update forms.
PowerSchool has stated, "While we are unaware of and do not expect any actual or attempted misuse of personal information or any financial harm to impacted individuals as a result of this incident, PowerSchool will be providing credit monitoring to affected adults and identity protection services to affected minors in accordance with regulatory and contractual obligations." The District will work with PowerSchool on this.
We expect PowerSchool to provide additional resources and information, which we will share with you as it becomes available. We remain committed to protecting the data of our students, staff, and families, and we will continue to communicate updates as they become available.
Thank you for your understanding and support during this time.
Kiya Hunt
Superintendent
Canal Winchester Schools