Update on PowerSchool Cybersecurity Incident

January 20, 2025

SECOND COMMUNICATION

Update on PowerSchool Cybersecurity Incident

Dear Kelsey 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 Kelsey School Division as a result of this incident. PowerSchool has assured us that the incident has been contained.

In Kelsey 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 tlane@ksd.mb.ca 

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

Trevor Lane
KSD Superintendent of Schools

Kelsey School Division
322 Edwards Avenue
The Pas, Manitoba, R9A 1R4

Phone: (204) 623-6421

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The incident

  1. What happened?

On January 7, 2025, PowerSchool informed Kelsey School Division that it had experienced a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain customer information in late December 2024. Kelsey 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 Kelsey 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 Kelsey School Division as a result of this incident.

  1. 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.

  1. How did you respond to the incident?

Upon becoming aware of the cybersecurity incident, Kelsey 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.

  1. 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.

  1. 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 Kelsey School Division as a result of this incident.

 

The response

  1. Has law enforcement been notified?

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

  1. Has the Manitoba Ombudsman been advised?

Yes, the Manitoba Ombudsman has been advised.

The impact

  1. Why did this happen to Kelsey 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 Kelsey School Division was a specific target in this incident.

The data

  1. Has information been accessed? Was information from Kelsey School Division exposed?

PowerSchool confirmed that there was unauthorized access to certain PowerSchool customer data, including data related to Kelsey 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.