NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WKBW) — PowerSchool, an online grading service used by several schools in Western New York, reported a cybersecurity breach, potentially exposing sensitive information of students, families and teachers.
PowerSchool told me the breach, which occurred on December 28, may have compromised social security numbers and medical information.
Holly Hubert, CEO of GlobalSecurityIQ and a former FBI special agent told me, "At the end of the day, we have to realize that these individuals that are committing these types of crimes, they don't care the age of the social security number; it is the social security number itself that has value on the dark web."
Below is a list of the schools I was able to find that use the PowerSchool Student Information System:
Erie County:
- Canisius High School
- Clarence Central School District
- Cleveland Hill Union Free School District
- Depew Union Free School District
- East Aurora Union Free School District
- Lake Shore Central School District
- Orchard Park Central School District
- Sacred Heart Academy
- Sweet Home Central School District
- West Seneca Central School District
Niagara County:
- Lewiston-Porter Central School District
- Niagara Falls City School District
- Wilson Central School District
Chautauqua County:
- Ellicottville Central School District
- Fredonia Central School District
- Silver Creek Central School District
PowerSchool has not disclosed which specific schools were affected. Parents with concerns are advised to contact their schools directly.
“Because of our ongoing investigation, we are not sharing specifics around the number of districts and schools we believe were involved. We are in communication with those customers directly and are supporting them through next steps.”
Mark Laurrie, the Superintendent of the Niagara Falls City School District, told me that very little detail was provided in their initial notification from PowerSchool.
"The ramifications of a breach in PowerSchool for a school district are very wide-ranging and very concerning," Laurrie said. “We don't know how deep this is. We don't want to falsely alarm somebody, but we're not going to hold back the information either. We have an obligation to share that information.”
PowerSchool told me their investigation is ongoing and will share more information at a later date.
