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Major public school student information system hacked, compromising data of millions of students

PowerSchool suffered a massive hack earlier this month. (Image source: stock photo and PowerSchool logo, w/ edits)
PowerSchool suffered a massive hack earlier this month. (Image source: stock photo and PowerSchool logo, w/ edits)
PowerSchool, one of the largest student management software providers, was hacked earlier this month. Details of the hack have surfaced, with the malicious actor claiming they stole personal data for over 62 million students and 9.5 million teachers.

Tens of millions of students and teachers across North America likely had personal data stolen in a massive breach of one of the largest student information system providers in North America.

PowerSchool, which services school districts across the globe with a focus in North America, disclosed on January 7 that it suffered a data breach. The company first noticed the attack in late December 2024. Now, more details have surfaced, laying out the scope of this hack.

The hacker claiming responsibility for the breach claims to hold the personal data of 62,488,628 students and 9,506,624 teachers. Those affected are located primarily in the United States and Canada, with the largest school districts affected being in major city centers like Toronto, Calgary, Dallas, San Diego, and others. Over 6,500 school districts in total were affected.

The hacker managed to secure credentials to gain entry into PowerSchool's customer support site, which then opened access to individual school district's databases.

As reported by Bleeping Computer, PowerSchool claims the affected data varies by district, which makes sense as individual school districts can input whatever data they decide. 

In response to the breach, PowerSchool will offer two years of identity monitoring and protection services to impacted individuals. If you are concerned that you may be affected by this breach, you can get more information at PowerSchool's dedicated website here.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2025 01 > Major public school student information system hacked, compromising data of millions of students
Sam Medley, 2025-01-22 (Update: 2025-01-23)