PowerSchool Cybersecurity Breach
Hundreds of schools impacted including Abby Kelley Foster
Dear Abby Kelley Foster Charter School Community,
We are writing to inform you about a cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, our Student Information System (SIS) provider. Below are the key details to keep you informed.
What Happened?
On December 28, 2024, PowerSchool discovered unauthorized access to certain information through one of their customer support portals. During this incident, the attacker exported database tables containing student and teacher information. Please note that Abby Kelley Foster Charter school is one of many schools both locally and nationally that were impacted by this breach. We share your concerns and recognize the significance of this situation.
What Information Was Involved?
PowerSchool confirmed that the exported data included information from the Teachers and Students tables.
For teachers/staff:
The data included contact details (e.g., names, addresses, phone numbers), general school-related information (e.g., schedules, school assignments), and login IDs.No Social Security numbers (SSNs) were included as our district does not store them.
No passwords were compromised.
For students:
The data included contact details, student IDs, emergency contact information, and email addresses.Some medical information (e.g., doctor names and medical alerts) was part of the exported data; however, no sensitive health records under HIPAA were involved.
No passwords were compromised.
In Summary:
No staff or student passwords were compromised.
No Social Security numbers were compromised as we do not store them.
No sensitive health records were compromised.
No Special Education records were compromised.
What Steps Did PowerSchool Take?
PowerSchool acted immediately to mitigate the incident:
Engaged CyberSteward, a cybersecurity expert, to negotiate with the threat actor.
Obtained assurances from the threat actor that the stolen data has been deleted and no additional copies exist. Powerschool does not anticipate the data being shared or made public because they believe it has been destroyed without replication or dissemination.
Implemented continuous monitoring of the dark web to detect any data leaks.
Additionally, PowerSchool is offering:
Credit monitoring services for affected adults.
Identity protection services for impacted minors.
How Is Abby Kelley Foster Charter School Impacted?
At this time, we have no evidence that sensitive information beyond contact details have been compromised. We are actively awaiting further updates from PowerSchool and will notify you promptly if new information becomes available.
Meanwhile, our IT department has:
Attended a meeting with PowerSchool’s Executive Team to gather all details about the incident.
Followed PowerSchool’s recommended actions.
Continued strengthening security practices to protect our systems and your information.
What Can You Do?
We encourage you to:
Stay alert and monitor your personal information for any suspicious activity.
Contact our IT Director, Gabriel Beltran, at gbeltran@akfcs.org, if you have questions or concerns.
We are committed to keeping you informed and will share updates as they become available. Thank you for your understanding and support.
Sincerely,
Heidi Paluk
Executive Director