Rocky View School (RVS) has fallen victim to a data breach through its use of PowerSchool, a third-party cloud-based information system used in Canada and around the world many parents are familiar with. The data breach incident took place in many school districts all across North America.
In an email sent to families and staff on Jan.9, RVS outlined that the data breach had impacted RVS staff and student data, but it was not yet sure of the extent of the impact.
“PowerSchool informed RVS Tuesday afternoon (Jan. 7 ,2025) of a breach that took place on Dec. 28, 2024,” the email read. “RVS takes the security and privacy of personal information very seriously. Since we were notified, we have been working to gather additional information from PowerSchool on their investigation and our Technology team has been conducting our own investigation.
“While the scope of the incident is still being determined we assure you that no financial information was stored in PowerSchool.”
PowerSchool has stated that an unauthorized party accessed certain PowerSchool student information system demographic data via the use of compromised corporate support credentials. Currently, PowerSchool has a third-party cyber security response team investigating the incident.
“They believe it is contained, but they do not anticipate the data involved being shared or made public, and they believe it has been deleted without any further replication or dissemination,” RVS wrote. “The company has indicated that they have increased security within their systems to prevent further incidents.
“The system remains fully functional and is safe to use.”
RVS outlines that it does not have any further information from PowerSchool and that it does not know the extent to which their division was compromised.
“We are waiting for their team of forensic experts to complete their investigation and share with us the details of data compromised specifically within our division,” they wrote.
RVS adds that it is taking the incident very seriously.
“PowerSchool has committed to sharing more detailed information with us when they have it,” RVS wrote. “We will communicate new information to families and staff as quickly as possible.”
Calgary Catholic not affected
Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) says it was not affected by the PowerSchool data breach.
"The Calgary Catholic School District is aware of the recent PowerSchool data breach and has thoroughly investigated the situation," CCSD said on its website. "After a comprehensive review, we are pleased to confirm that CCSD was not affected by the breach. We remain committed to protecting the privacy and security of our students’ and families’ information."
