WARMAN — The Prairie Spirit School Division is among the numerous school districts across Canada that have been affected by a “cybersecurity incident” involving a third-party application that is used to store student and staff information.
The U.S.-based student information software provider known as PowerSchool reportedly informed school boards in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Maritimes last week that it became aware on Dec. 28 of a potential cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain Student Information System (SIS) data.
“As soon as we learned of the incident, we immediately engaged our cybersecurity response protocols and mobilized a cross-functional response team,” PowerSchool states on its website.
“We are working to complete our investigation of the incident and are coordinating with districts and schools to provide more information and resources ... as they become available.”
In a letter from Deputy Director of Education Dean Broughton posted to Prairie Spirit’s website on Jan. 10, the division confirmed that some of its data was involved in the breach.
The Prairie Spirit used PowerSchool as a third-party provider for the management of school division data from 2009 to 2022.
The affected data primarily includes parent, student and teacher contact information with elements such as names and addresses.
“PowerSchool says the company has taken all appropriate steps to prevent further unauthorized access or misuse of the data involved,” Broughton states in the letter.
The division indicated that it will share further updates from PowerSchool with Prairie Spirit staff and families as they become available, adding that no further action is required by parents or staff at this time.
“We recognize the critical importance of protecting personal information, and we want to assure you that this matter is 小蓝视频 treated with the utmost urgency,” Broughton states.
