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Swain County Schools says PowerSchool data included in vendor breach; district monitoring next steps
Summary
District staff told the Swain County Board that student and staff data held by the PowerSchool student information system were likely part of a larger PowerSchool breach announced in early January; the district is awaiting further guidance from the vendor and the state Department of Public Instruction.
Swain County Schools staff told the Board of Education on Jan. 13 that records in the district’s PowerSchool student information system were included in a vendor data breach announced Jan. 7 and that the district is awaiting guidance from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and PowerSchool on next steps.
Karen (district technology staff) told the board that PowerSchool informed districts Jan. 7 of a breach affecting their systems and that DPI confirmed over the weekend that Swain County Schools’ data were among those exposed. "As we understand it, PowerSchool has been in contact with this group that has scavenged the data, and they have paid the ransom basically as I understand it, and they have been assured that the data has been destroyed," Karen said. She added the district is waiting for more guidance from DPI and PowerSchool about whether credit monitoring or other responses will be provided.
District staff said the breach likely includes records for students and staff who have been in the district at any time since about 2013. Karen said preliminary steps were already taken locally to protect district systems and to train staff on recognizing phishing and other follow-on scams. She described the incident as stemming from compromised credentials on a PowerSchool support account and subsequent spread from that access.
District officials emphasized the breach was a vendor incident and not caused by district action. The board heard that PowerSchool and DPI are the primary sources of further information and that the district will provide updates as they become available.
Ending
The district said it will continue to coordinate with DPI and PowerSchool and will inform staff and families of required next steps when the vendor or the state provides guidance.
