PowerSchool SIS Experiences Data Breach, Exposing US and Canadian Student Data

PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS), a prominent platform for distance learning, has encountered a data breach that has left student data from various schools in the US and Canada exposed. The breach was discovered by the cybersecurity firm UpGuard, who found exposed AWS S3 buckets containing millions of files pertaining to student information. The exposed files, which totaled over 3.5 terabytes of data, included sensitive information like names, birth dates, and contact details of students. Some of the data also contained health information, free lunch eligibility status, and special education status of students. UpGuard has stated that the exposed data could be traced back as far as 2008, and some files even included notes from teachers and counselors. This revelation has raised serious concerns about the security of student data in digital learning platforms. PowerSchool SIS, which is used by over 45 million students across the globe, is yet to comment on the breach. However, UpGuard has reported that the exposed buckets were secured shortly after they notified PowerSchool.This incident is not the first data breach to occur in the education sector. In recent times, many educational institutions and platforms have faced similar security issues, highlighting the need for more robust data protection measures. This breach has raised questions about the responsibility of digital learning platforms in safeguarding student data and the potential consequences if such data falls into the wrong hands.