PowerSchool Data Breach Exposes Sensitive Student and Teacher Data
Education technology leader PowerSchool has disclosed a cybersecurity incident that compromised the personal information of students and teachers across U.S. K-12 school districts. The breach raises significant concerns about data privacy in the education sector.
About PowerSchool and the Breach Scope
- Market Position: PowerSchool is the largest provider of cloud-based education software for K-12 schools in North America
- User Base: Serves 75% of North American students through 18,000+ institutions (60+ million students total)
- Ownership: Acquired by Bain Capital in 2024 for $5.6 billion
Incident Details
PowerSchool detected unauthorized access to its systems on December 28, 2024 through:
- Initial breach of the PowerSource customer support portal
- Subsequent access to PowerSchool SIS (Student Information System)
- Entry gained via compromised credentials
What Data Was Exposed?
While PowerSchool hasn’t confirmed the full scope, reports indicate hackers may have accessed:
- Student and teacher names/addresses
- Potentially Social Security numbers
- Medical information
- Academic records (grades, attendance)
- Other personally identifiable information (PII)
Company Response and Ongoing Concerns
PowerSchool spokesperson Beth Keebler stated:
“We’ve contained the incident and taken steps to prevent further unauthorized access. We don’t anticipate operational disruptions or public data leaks.”
Key unresolved questions:
- Exact number of affected individuals
- Whether data was exfiltrated
- If ransomware was involved (company denies but reports suggest extortion payment)
Broader Context
This incident follows a November 2024 class action lawsuit alleging PowerSchool:
- Maintains 345 terabytes of student data from 440 districts
- Potentially sells student data without proper consent
- Uses opaque terms of service regarding data usage
What’s Next?
Education institutions using PowerSchool should:
- Monitor for official communications
- Review their data protection measures
- Consider notifying potentially affected individuals
TechCrunch continues investigating this developing story. Have information to share? Contact reporter Carly Page securely via Signal (+44 1536 853968) or email ([email protected]).
Article updated with PowerSchool’s official statement.
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