The privacy commissioner is worried about a recent data breach affecting students’ personal information across Canada
Halifax: So, there’s been a bit of a scare regarding student data in Canada. The federal privacy watchdog, Philippe Dufresne, is pretty worried about a data breach linked to a student information system that’s used all over the country.
He’s been in touch with PowerSchool, the U.S. company that runs the software for schools here. Earlier this month, PowerSchool let school boards in places like Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Ontario know that they had a data breach between December 22 and 28.
PowerSchool claims the situation is under control now and they’re working hard to keep any more unauthorized access from happening. But here’s the kicker: the breach might hit some former and current teachers in the wallet since some social insurance numbers from before 2010 were part of the stolen data.
Dufresne is on it, though. He’s looking to get more details about what happened and plans to remind PowerSchool about their responsibilities under Canada’s privacy laws. He’s all about making sure kids’ privacy is protected, especially since their personal info is super sensitive.
PowerSchool says they’re still providing services as usual while they dig deeper into the breach. They’re taking privacy very seriously, which is good to hear. This whole situation is definitely something to keep an eye on.
