Some Canadian school councils say they were the target of ransom attempts concerning the massive data violation of data from Powerful schoolwho has seen millions of current and old students across the country.
In letters to families on Wednesday, the Toronto district school board,, Peel District School Board And Calgary Board of Education said they had been contacted by a “threat actor demanding a ransom”.
Each school board says PowerSchool does not only report new information has been accessible, and the data used for ransom is what was obtained in December 2024.
Powerschool, the American company which provides the information system for students that was raped, said on Wednesday that it was aware that school boards and districts in North America had been contacted.
“We do not think it is a new incident, because the data samples correspond to the data previously stolen in December,” wrote the company. “We sincerely regret these developments – it hurts us that our customers are threatened and re -aimed by the bad actors.”
He said he had reported the case to the police in Canada and the United States and worked with customers to support them.
The company said after the December violation that she had paid a ransom, because she thought she would be “in the best interests of our customers”.
Get national news
For news that has an impact on Canada and worldwide, register for the safeguarding of news alerts that are delivered to you directly when they occur.
Peel’s school boards, Toronto and Calgary said in their letters that the company had already told them that the accessible data had been deleted without exemplary published online, but this was not the case.
“As with such an incident, there was a risk that threat actors will not honor their commitment to delete stolen data, despite Powerschool insurance,” wrote the Calgary Board of Education in his letter, which has not added or contributed to a ransom payment.
The initial violation occurred in December, with advice from several provinces contacted.
Global News contacted Each school board across the country Earlier this year to determine the number of people affected. Among those who answered, at least 87 were affected.
Data from those who provided figures have shown that more than 2.77 million current and former students were confirmed to be affected. In addition, 35,951 staff members, including teachers, were confirmed, a school board of the Nova Scotia advising that 3,500 parents of parents have also been accessible.
Data including the names of the people, the contact details, the date of birth, the limited medical alert information and, in some cases, the social insurance numbers have been accessible, according to Powerschool and several school boards. No sin was accessible, however, to the school boards of Toronto, Peel and Calgary who alerted the parents this week.
According to various civil servants and public declarations of school councils, data violations have been seen in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, North West of the Territories, in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Quebec, New Brunswick, Nunavut, British Columbia and Yukon officials said their advice was not affected.
Canada and Ontario privacy commissioners said earlier that they were investigating violation.
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for the Canada Commissioner in Privacy said that the company had become aware of the incident and remained “actively committed” to ensure that Powerschool took measures to respond to the violation.
The commissioner’s office said he could not provide additional details as his investigation was underway.
A collective appeal was also launched earlier this year by the law firm in Calgary Cuming and Gillespie, although lawyer Craig Gillespie told Global News that there was “no call for urgent action” so that people get involved at the moment, because it was still certified. Opinions will come out so that people can join once it happens.
& Copy 2025 Global News, A Division of Corus Entertainment Inc.