National PowerSchool Incident
Update: February 3, 2025
PowerSchool, in partnership with Experian, is notifying impacted individuals and offering complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services. These services are available to current and former students and educators whose information was involved, regardless of whether their Social Security Number was obtained.
On January 29, 2025, Experian (on behalf of PowerSchool) began emailing notifications to impacted individuals for whom sufficient contact information is available. These emails include details on how to activate the identity protection services. Additionally, a dedicated, toll-free call center has been established to assist with questions. Whether or not you receive an email, you can find information on how to access these services on PowerSchool's website: https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/
Update: January 21, 2025
As previously communicated, PowerSchool – a cloud-based software vendor used by Botetourt County Public Schools – recently experienced a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain information in the PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS).
The school division received the following updated information and next steps from PowerSchool:
Identity Protection and Credit Monitoring Services:
PowerSchool is working with Experian, a trusted credit reporting agency, to offer two years of complimentary identity protection services for all students and educators whose information from the PowerSchool SIS was involved. This offer also includes two years of complimentary credit monitoring services for all educators and adult students whose information was involved.
Notification to Individuals Involved:
Starting in the next few weeks, and in collaboration with Experian, PowerSchool will provide notice to students (or their parents / guardians if the student is under 18) and educators whose information was involved, as well as a phone number to answer any questions you may have about the incident. The notice will include the identity protection and credit monitoring services offered (as applicable).
As soon as PowerSchool learned of the breach, they conducted a forensic investigation of the scope of the incident and monitored for signs of information misuse. PowerSchool is not aware of any identity theft attributable to this incident.
Up-to-date information is available on PowerSchool’s website at https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/.
Update: January 15, 2025
Botetourt County Public Schools has received assurances from PowerSchool that the company will notify any impacted members of the BCPS community. PowerSchool’s investigation into this matter is ongoing, and Botetourt County Public Schools has not been provided with details on what information was exposed for specific individuals.
PowerSchool has now posted an informational FAQ page about the incident to their website:
https://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/
We will continue to monitor developments about PowerSchool’s response to their breach and how members of our community may have been impacted.
Original Notification: January 10, 2025
Earlier this week, PowerSchool, an international provider of education administration software, announced that it had suffered a cybersecurity incident in late December. Although security of PowerSchool’s systems has been restored, data pertaining to students and educators at hundreds of school systems around the country were subjected to unauthorized access. The breach was limited to PowerSchool’s internal systems, and security of individual school system networks was not disturbed.
Botetourt County Public Schools utilizes some PowerSchool tools. We have asked PowerSchool to identify the scope of impact this incident may have had on information pertaining to members of our community. PowerSchool has assured us that they are investigating the matter.
Botetourt County Public Schools takes the privacy of our students’ and employees’ information very seriously. We are committed to holding PowerSchool accountable. PowerSchool has advised us that they will directly notify any impacted individuals with details of the information pertaining to him or her that was affected. Botetourt County Public Schools has not been provided with details on what information was exposed for specific individuals.