On the afternoon of Tuesday, January 7, PowerSchool alerted North Carolina public schools and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) to a cybersecurity incident impacting student and teacher data across their global client base. This incident was not isolated to North Carolina, affecting most states throughout the country as well as internationally.
On January 11, DPI confirmed that some of Sampson County Schools data was part of the cyber incident. In the coming days, DPI hopes to share with us what specific data was compromised. We will forward that information to SCS staff as it becomes available.
On December 28, 2024, PowerSchool became aware of a cybersecurity incident that began on December 19, 2024, involving unauthorized access to student and teacher data. The data breach occurred when the credentials of a PowerSchool contract employee were compromised. PowerSchool has shared that the threat has been contained and that the compromised data was not shared and has been destroyed. PowerSchool is working with law enforcement to monitor the dark web for any data exposure.
PowerSchool has indicated that it is not experiencing any operational disruptions and continues to provide services.
Sampson County Schools will work alongside NCDPI and PowerSchool, to ensure that all required notifications are conducted.
It is important to stress that there is nothing that Sampson County Schools or NCDPI could have done to avoid this cybersecurity incident. Neither our schools nor DPI have administrative access to the maintenance tunnel where the breach occurred.
In the coming days, impacted students and staff will receive notification from NCDPI regarding any next steps that may need to be taken. With PowerSchool’s help, more information and resources (including credit monitoring or identity protection services if applicable) will be provided to you as it becomes available.
Protecting student and educator data is a top priority, and we are taking this matter very seriously. NCDPI is committed to protecting our students and staff, and they are actively advocating for each of them as we navigate this situation with PowerSchool.