Red Deer Public Schools and Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools are among the many divisions across North America that were affected by a recent data breach.
PowerSchool, a third-party application that's used to store student information and some school-based staff information, has informed school boards that it had experienced a data breach between Dec. 22 and 28.
The U.S.-based provider of cloud software claimed in a statement it has taken “all appropriate steps” to prevent further unauthorized access or misuse of the affected data. The company added that the incident is “contained” and it does not anticipate the data will be shared or made public.
"We were notified of the breach yesterday and promptly received a briefing on the extent of its impact on our division. The breach involved both current and past student and staff information stored within the PowerSchool system," Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools said in a statement on Thursday, Jan. 9.
"PowerSchool has assured us that the data obtained during the breach has been destroyed and that they are implementing enhanced security measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. They are also working closely with law enforcement."
The RDCRS IT team is actively collaborating with PowerSchool to understand the full scope of this breach and assess its implications for the division.
"At RDCRS, the safety and privacy of our staff, students, and families are paramount," the release stated.
"While no action is required from our staff, students, or families at this time, we are committed to keeping our community informed as new information becomes available. Affected individuals have already been notified directly, and additional support will be provided as needed.
"This breach highlights the growing challenges organizations face in safeguarding sensitive information in the digital age. We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and will continue working diligently to protect the information entrusted to us."
Chad Erickson, Red Deer Public Schools' superintendent, issued a letter to parents in response to the data breach.
"We recognize the critical importance of protecting personal information, and we want to assure you that this matter is being treated with the utmost seriousness," Erickson said.
"PowerSchool has informed us that they are actively implementing enhanced security measures and are working closely with law enforcement to address this situation."
Like with Red Deer Catholic, no action is required from students, families or staff within Red Deer Public.
Both school divisions noted the following information was compromised: student names, student mailing addresses, dates of birth, student home phone numbers, and in some cases basic student medical information, such as details about asthma, diabetes or allergies.
RDCRS also noted staff names, staff phone numbers (cell and/or home), and staff emails were compromised as well.
Officials in Alberta say they are working with PowerSchool to determine the extent of the breach.
Wolf Creek Public Schools, Battle River School Division and East Central Catholic Schools were all impacted by the breach.
—With files from The Canadian Press