PowerSchool Data Breach Affects Multiple U.S. States

A significant data breach involving PowerSchool, a widely-used educational software platform, has impacted numerous school districts across the United States, including those in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, Nebraska, and South Carolina. Discovered on December 28, the breach involved unauthorized access through compromised credentials, leading to the theft of student and staff information such as names and addresses. PowerSchool has paid a ransom to have the stolen data deleted and is working with the FBI to mitigate the incident. Many affected districts, like Westerville City Schools and Lincoln Diocese schools, have assured that Social Security numbers were not compromised and are reviewing the security breach thoroughly. School officials emphasize the importance of safeguarding credentials and minimizing online data storage to prevent future risks. PowerSchool continues to operate normally and is committed to enhancing its cybersecurity measures.