The California Attorney General's Office was notified of a data breach affecting PowerSchool, the former student information system provider for the Salinas City Elementary School District (SCESD). The incident, reported on January 7, 2025, involved unauthorized access to legacy data of SCESD students and staff. Compromised information included names, email addresses, ethnicities, and other personal details, though the exact scope of the exposed data remains undisclosed. While no financial or highly sensitive records (e.g., Social Security numbers) were confirmed as stolen, the breach exposed personally identifiable information (PII) of both current and former students and employees. In response, PowerSchool announced it would provide two years of complimentary identity protection services to affected individuals, mitigating potential risks like identity theft or phishing attempts. The breach did not disrupt school operations or involve ransomware demands, but it raised concerns over the security of historical student and staff records managed by third-party vendors. The incident underscores vulnerabilities in legacy systems and the long-term risks associated with data retained by former service providers.
Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-597852
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/powerschool-group-llc
"id": "pow1009091725",
"linkid": "powerschool-group-llc",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "1/2025",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Students and staff (exact '
'number unspecified)',
'industry': 'Education',
'location': 'Salinas, California, USA',
'name': 'Salinas City Elementary School District '
'(SCESD)',
'type': 'Educational Institution (K-12)'},
{'industry': 'Education Technology',
'location': 'Folsom, California, USA',
'name': 'PowerSchool',
'type': 'EdTech Company'}],
'customer_advisories': 'Identity protection services offered to affected '
'individuals',
'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes (legacy data accessed)',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes (names, email '
'addresses, '
'ethnicities)',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (includes ethnicities and '
'personal details)',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['personal identifiable '
'information (PII)',
'educational records']},
'date_detected': '2025-01-07',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2025-01-07',
'description': "The California Attorney General's Office was informed about a "
'data breach involving PowerSchool, the previous student '
'information system provider for the Salinas City Elementary '
'School District, on January 7, 2025. The breach accessed '
'legacy data of SCESD students and staff, including names, '
'email addresses, ethnicities, and various personal '
'information. PowerSchool will offer two years of '
'complimentary identity protection services to those affected.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential reputational damage due to '
'exposure of sensitive student and '
'staff data',
'data_compromised': ['names',
'email addresses',
'ethnicities',
'personal information'],
'identity_theft_risk': 'High (identity protection services '
'offered)',
'systems_affected': ['legacy student information system']},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing (as of disclosure date)',
'references': [{'date_accessed': '2025-01-07',
'source': "California Attorney General's Office "
'Notification'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulatory_notifications': ['California Attorney '
"General's Office"]},
'response': {'incident_response_plan_activated': 'Likely (identity protection '
'services offered)',
'law_enforcement_notified': "Yes (California Attorney General's "
'Office informed)',
'remediation_measures': ['Offering two years of complimentary '
'identity protection services']},
'title': 'PowerSchool Data Breach Affecting Salinas City Elementary School '
'District',
'type': 'Data Breach'}