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Oconee County schools report PowerSchool data breach; state investigators notified
Summary
During the board's superintendent report, officials said a compromised PowerSchool contractor account allowed outside access to student and staff files; no Social Security numbers were stored in the district's system, and the district has notified SLED and the State Department of Education.
The Oconee County School District notified parents and staff after an international data breach involving PowerSchool, the student information system, a district presenter said during the school board's superintendent report. District officials said a compromised contractor password gave outside actors access to PowerSchool files that included district student and staff records.
District staff said the incident affected multiple South Carolina districts and that law enforcement and state officials have been alerted. "This was a contractor for the PowerSchool company that allowed a password to be compromised, and it gave an outside entity access to PowerSchool files," the presenter said. The district said SLED (the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) has been notified and the district is working with the State Department of Education and PowerSchool.
Why it matters: District officials said files containing student and teacher records were accessed, and they are notifying affected employees and families as further protections are determined. The presenter said the district does not store financial information such as Social Security numbers in PowerSchool as a matter of practice.
District description of the breach and next steps
At the meeting presenter, identified in the record as the superintendent's report presenter, said the compromise stemmed from a contractor for PowerSchool and not from any county or state practice. "I do want to assure everyone that is no fault of our technology department. It had nothing to do with any practice or policy within our county or even within our state," the presenter said. The presenter said the breach affected districts across the state and beyond, and that only three South Carolina school districts were not affected.
District staff said they are awaiting specific remediation and protective services from PowerSchool and the State Department of Education. Officials said they will work individually with any employee or student whose data was compromised once more information is available.
Ending
The presenter said the district will continue to update families and staff as the district learns more from PowerSchool and state law enforcement. No dollar amounts for mitigation or an exact count of affected records were provided at the meeting; officials said they will communicate directly with those whose records were compromised.
