PowerSchool offering identity protection to Edmonton-area schools after breach

Free credit monitoring and identity protection are being offered to local students and teachers impacted by a cyber security hack.

Earlier this month, PowerSchool notified school boards its systems were breached in late December. Families can use the software to check their child’s grades or pay school fees.

St. Albert Public Schools says information was exported from individual accounts, but financial data and passwords weren’t compromised. Edmonton Public Schools says it wasn’t affected by the breach.

Edmonton Catholic Schools was also hacked and says no photos of students or staff or personal documents were accessed in the incident.

In a statement to St. Albert Public Schools, the software company says the offer is being provided regardless of whether a person’s social insurance number was exfiltrated.

The breach happened after an unauthorized person used a compromised login to gain access, according to PowerSchool.

A Calgary law firm has launched a class-action lawsuit against PowerSchool. It claims the software caused “anxiety and mistrust” in users over concerns their personal information would “be sold or used for nefarious purposes.”