Cyberattack Compromises North Carolina Student Data

The Near North District School Board reported a cyber incident involving PowerSchool, a widely used app for managing student information, with the breach occurring between December 22-28, 2024. PowerSchool confirmed that compromised data has been deleted and not made public, while the board is collaborating with cybersecurity experts to assess the impact. In North Carolina, officials announced that student and teacher data may have been compromised due to unauthorized access to PowerSchool, with personal details like names and social security numbers potentially at risk. The breach was traced back to compromised credentials of a contract employee, raising concerns about security measures in place. The Department of Public Instruction emphasized that local schools could not have prevented the incident, which it termed a global issue. Parents are advised to monitor their children's private information and consider checking credit reports to safeguard against potential identity theft.