Several school boards in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are grappling with a “cyber incident” after software used to store student and staff information experienced a data breach.

Per CTV News, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Durham District School Board (DDSB) and Peel District School Board (PDSB) were impacted by the incident, though it’s unclear how widespread the incident is and how many other school boards may be affected. The TDSB notified parents and guardians about the incident, which impacted the PowerSchool software between December 22nd and 28th, 2024.

A PowerSchool spokesperson told CTV News that it was aware of the incident on December 28th. The cybersecurity breach impacted one of PowerSchool’s community-focused customer portals dubbed PowerSource.

The impacted school boards say they’re conducting an investigation alongside PowerSchool to determine what personal information may have been impacted. However, the school boards also noted that whatever data the unauthorized user accessed has been deleted and no copies were shared online. The boards say they will alert families if they determine any personal information was impacted.

Moreover, the school boards said they contacted the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario “out of an abundance of caution.”

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Source: CTV News