Nebraskan schools undergo data breach

Compromised credentials by PowerSchool

Hacking has been an issue for decades, and schools have also been subject to such attacks. Schools are vulnerable to these attacks because of their low security, old technology and valuable data. There are many instances of students changing their grades and in other instances erasing their debt. Often when these hacks are by students, they are small-scale and do not have a motive to collect credentials. Unfortunately, a software company for k-12 schools, by the name of PowerSchool has been under a data breach. PowerSchool became aware of a potential cybersecurity breach on Dec. 28, 2024, and informed those who use PowerSchool in Waverly and Lincoln about the cybersecurity incident. 

This cybersecurity attack did not only impact institutions within Nebraska, but schools worldwide have been affected by the data breach. Lincoln Public Schools have worked with PowerSchool but they do not use the service that had the data breach. While Lincoln Public Schools were not affected, unfortunately the Catholic Diocesan schools were. All of the Catholic Diocesan schools in Lincoln had their credentials compromised by the breach. 

Other districts outside Nebraska also experienced breaches. Toronto District Schools had 1.5 million students and teachers impacted by the incident. Additionally, San Diego schools were also affected with nearly half a million students and teachers impacted. At the current moment, it is difficult to know what information was breached and it is still unclear as to how many schools in total were affected. Bank and credit card information have not been stolen according to PowerSchool. Other information, such as millions of addresses, names, dates of birth, medical information, social security numbers and contact information of staff and students have been compromised. The numbers indicate that as many as sixty million students and ten million staff have been affected worldwide. 

It is believed that one person’s credentials were stolen, which led to millions of other credentials being stolen. Often it can feel hopeless when incidents like this occur and none of the customers can resolve or undo the consequences. Now, more than ever, it is important to have digital literacy to prevent compromising one’s personal information.

By: Stuart Cuateco