PowerSchool Cybersecurity Event (Updated)

Updated: January 13, 2025

Dear Brandon School Division Community,

We are writing to provide a brief update about the cybersecurity incident that PowerSchool, our student information system provider, recently experienced.

PowerSchool’s investigation is ongoing and we await additional details from PowerSchool about the information accessed as a result of the incident. We empathize with your concerns about this incident that is impacting educational institutions across North America. We also understand that you may be looking for additional details as well. Rest assured that when we have details to share, we are committed to sharing them.

There have been no operational impacts on Brandon School Division as a result of this incident. PowerSchool has assured us that the incident has been contained. 

In Brandon School Division, we take cybersecurity and protecting information seriously. We will post updates about the PowerSchool cybersecurity incident on our website and social media accounts.  We have provided below some answers to questions you may have. If you have any additional questions, they can be directed to info@bsd.ca.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we navigate this situation.  

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Incident

1.     What happened? 

On January 7, 2025, PowerSchool informed Brandon School Division that it had experienced a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain customer information in late December 2024. Brandon School Division is a customer of PowerSchool, like many other educational institutions across North America. PowerSchool provides a Student Information System (SIS).  

PowerSchool also informed us that the unauthorized access included access to information related to Brandon School Division. We await additional details from PowerSchool about the information affected and are committing to sharing details when we have them. 

We have been informed that PowerSchool has contained the incident and that there is no evidence of malware or continued unauthorized activity in the PowerSchool environment. There have been no operational impacts on Brandon School Division as a result of this incident. 

2.     Who did this and for what purpose?

This incident occurred at PowerSchool. We await additional details about the incident from PowerSchool. Unfortunately, organizations across the public and private sectors are increasingly being impacted by incidents like this. 

3.     How did you respond to the incident? 

Upon becoming aware of the cybersecurity incident, Brandon School Division has been working diligently to investigate and to learn additional details from PowerSchool. We await additional details from PowerSchool about the information accessed as a result of this incident so we can take further action.

PowerSchool has informed us that it has taken various response actions, including containing the incident, informing law enforcement, investigating the incident, conducting a full internal password reset, and tightening password security for all of its internal accounts.

4.     How long will the investigation take? 

PowerSchool has advised it intends to provide additional details shortly. Once we have additional details from PowerSchool, we will seek to complete our investigation as quickly as possible.

5.     Has the incident been resolved? 

We have been informed that PowerSchool has contained the incident and that there is no evidence of malware or continued unauthorized activity in the PowerSchool environment. There have been no operational impacts on Brandon School Division as a result of this incident.

The Response

6.     Has law enforcement been notified?

Yes, PowerSchool has advised us that it has notified law enforcement.

7.     Has the Manitoba Ombudsman been advised?

Yes, the Manitoba Ombudsman has been advised.

The Impact

8.     Why did this happen to Brandon School Division?

PowerSchool is a vendor used by many educational institutions in North America. We are a customer of PowerSchool and, as a result of the incident experienced by PowerSchool, we were impacted. We have no reason to believe that Brandon School Division was a specific target in this incident. 

The Data

9.     Has information been accessed? Was information from Brandon School Division exposed?

PowerSchool confirmed that there was unauthorized access to certain PowerSchool customer data, including data related to Brandon School Division. PowerSchool’s investigation is ongoing and we await additional details from PowerSchool about the information accessed as a result of the incident. We understand that you may be looking for additional details as well. Rest assured that when we have details to share, we are committed to sharing them.

BRANDON SCHOOL DIVISION
1031 – 6^th Street | Brandon, MB | R7A 4K5
Web: www.bsd.ca | Email:  info@bsd.ca

Published: January 9, 2025

On January 7, 2025, Brandon School Division was notified by our student information system (SIS) provider, PowerSchool, that a cybersecurity event had occurred in late December and that some of our PowerSchool data was accessed.  

PowerSchool, not Brandon School Division, was the target of the cybersecurity event. PowerSchool customers across Canada and the United States have been impacted, including Brandon School Division. We are working with PowerSchool to ensure the integrity and stability of our data going forward.

To this point, PowerSchool has worked with cybersecurity experts to resolve the situation.  PowerSchool has deactivated accounts and initiated enhanced processes for passwords and access.  PowerSchool has assured us that the accessed data has now been deleted. Furthermore, PowerSchool has confidence that the data was not copied or uploaded elsewhere. PowerSchool is actively engaged with cybersecurity professionals to continue to monitor this event.  

Brandon School Division has taken the necessary preliminary steps to respond to this situation, which includes involving the appropriate professionals. No other school division systems or data was accessed or compromised.  

We are currently investigating the impact of this cybersecurity event in Brandon School Division.  

Please be assured that the safety and security of our data—particularly the information of your children and of our staff is of paramount importance to us and PowerSchool. We regret that this has occurred, and we will continue to collaborate on this matter.

It is our commitment to you to continue to communicate. As we learn more, we will be in touch with you, and our community, and a process to ask questions will be identified. 

BRANDON SCHOOL DIVISION
1031 – 6^th Street | Brandon, MB | R7A 4K5
Web: www.bsd.ca | Email:  info@bsd.ca