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Data of some students and staff at the London District Catholic school board was compromised in a breach involving software used by schools across North America to store student information.
The board notified staff and students Friday about the data breach of the PowerSchool Student Information System, a program used by boards in Canada and the United States to manage “a range of student information as well as a limited amount of staff information.
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“After a comprehensive investigation, it has been determined that some LDCSB student and staff data was impacted” by the breach, the board said in the notice that also was posted on its website.
The software company has advised the board that the data accessed “by an unauthorized user” has been deleted and no copies of the data were posted online, the board said.
‘When we determine the exact data that was affected, we will share that information with those affected,” the board said.
The board said it doesn’t store any social insurance numbers and financial and banking information in PowerSchool. Other company products used by the board were not affected by the breach, the board said.
“We know this news may be concerning. Please know that we are doing everything possible to learn more from PowerSchool about what occurred, and we will update the LDCSB staff and families as more information becomes available,” the board said.
Parents or staff with questions are advised to contact the board’s privacy office at privacy@ldcsb.ca, the board said.
School boards in multiple provinces have been affected by the data breach, including Toronto, Peel and Durham district boards.
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The Thames Valley District school board says it does not use the PowerSchool Student Information System.
Notices issued by boards say PowerSchool told school boards in Ontario and elsewhere on Tuesday that it had experienced a data breach between Dec. 22 and 28.
Officials in Ontario, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador say they are working with PowerSchool to determine the extent of the breach.
PowerSchool, a U.S.-based provider of cloud software, says in a statement it has taken “all appropriate steps” to prevent further unauthorized access or misuse of the affected data.
The company says the incident is “contained,” and it does not anticipate the data will be shared or made public.
The Ontario school boards say they have notified the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario about the incident.
– With files from The Canadian Press
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