KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – A number of school districts around Michigan, including the Kalamazoo Public Schools, are working to determine the extent of a cybersecurity breach that happened late last month.
The California-based company Powerschool says it became aware of the potential hack December 28. It says the hack involved unauthorized access to certain data from PowerSchool Student Information System through its customer portal, PowerSource.
A spokesperson told WOOD-TV 8, “We have taken all appropriate steps to prevent the data involved from further unauthorized access or misuse. The incident is contained, and we do not anticipate the data being shared or made public.”
Schools were notified that the hack involved the use of compromised credentials and that no malware was found. However some contact information, including parent and student names and addresses, limited medical and grade information, and possibly Social Security numbers were obtained.
Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Darin Slade sent a letter to parents Thursday informing them of the breach, saying while the district was involved in the hack, “PowerSchool has received reasonable assurance that all of the copied data has been destroyed by the threat actor and does not believe this data will be made public.”
St. Joseph County Intermediate School District, Superintendent Teresa Belote told the TV station data saved with the service was breached but it is unclear to what extent. She said attempts were made to gain access to the district’s servers, but those were unsuccessful.
Other area school districts that use PowerSchool and were affected include Plainwell Public Schools and Paw Paw Public Schools, with school officials notifying parents with information similar to what was sent to Kalamazoo parents.
Comments