Latest news with #MoGreen
Business Mayor
18-05-2025
- Business Mayor
School districts hit with extortion attempts after PowerSchool breach
One of the largest providers of education tech paid off hackers so that they wouldn't publish tens of millions of children's personal information. But school districts are facing extortion attempts anyway. The company, PowerSchool, missed a basic cybersecurity step, according to a cybersecurity audit obtained by NBC News, and was hacked last year, leading to one of the largest breaches to date of American children's personal data. PowerSchool reportedly paid an undisclosed sum to the hackers in exchange for a video of them purporting to delete the files they had stolen, which included some students' Social Security numbers and other information, like health and disciplinary records. But 'a threat actor' is using that stolen data to try to extort schools and school districts in both the U.S. and Canada, according to statements from PowerSchool and various school districts issued Wednesday. 'PowerSchool is aware that a threat actor has reached out to multiple school district customers in an attempt to extort them using data from the previously reported December 2024 incident,' PowerSchool wrote in a statement Wednesday. 'We do not believe this is a new incident, as samples of data match the data previously stolen in December.' Public schools across North Carolina received extortion emails Wednesday morning, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Mo Green said in a public bulletin. The threat actor appears to have students' and staffers' names, contact information, birthdays, medical information, parental information, and in some cases Social Security numbers, he said. Several Canadian school authorities have announced they are also among the victims, including the Peel District School Board in Ontario and the Toronto District School Board. The Calgary Board of Education also issued a warning to parents this week based on communication it had received from PowerSchool. It was not immediately clear who was behind the current extortion attempt. PowerSchool said it believes that the threat actor is using data stolen from the original incident last year, indicating that the original hackers either are behind the current attempts or kept the data and made it accessible to other people. 'We have reported this matter to law enforcement both in the United States and in Canada and are working closely with our customers to support them. We sincerely regret these developments– it pains us that our customers are being threatened and re-victimized by bad actors,' PowerSchool's statement said. 'As is always the case with these situations, there was a risk that the bad actors would not delete the data they stole, despite assurances and evidence that were provided to us,' it said. It is not clear if other American school districts had been victims of the renewed extortion attempt. PowerSchool declined to name victims, saying only that it was aware of 'multiple school district customers.' A majority of U.S. states have at least one school district that was affected by the original breach. PowerSchool is one of the largest companies in the educational technology industry, which became particularly widespread during the Covid pandemic and uses software to streamline school processes. One of its primary programs helps school districts track students, and the company servers stored information like their names, family members, addresses and birthdays.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
North Carolina educators targeted again: Data breach repeat raises alarms
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina state education officials say a threat actor claims to have student data months after hacked data management contractor PowerSchool assured officials it was safe. This alarming situation stems from a significant data breach of the personal information of educators and students in January involving PowerSchool, a software tool responsible for managing educational records. Parents are reacting. PREVIOUSLY: NC school districts, Department of Public Instruction say they're taking breach 'very seriously' 'This kind of breach is not acceptable,' said Sownya Ram. 'I'm glad they caught it,' said Joe Esmail. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction says the new threat came via email Wednesday morning. 'We received about 50 emails from various employees here at the Department of Public Instruction, and it was confirmed that 20 local education agencies were contacted through various emails,' said Dr Vanessa Wrenn. Wrenn says they believe the emails came at random to publicly available email accounts. She says the threat actor is asking for bitcoin in exchange for data. State officials are asking educators not to engage. 'We advise anyone who received a message from the threat actor not to engage with that threat actor,' said State Superintendent Mo Green. ALSO: North Carolina attorney general investigating PowerSchool over data breach State officials say educators in Oregon and some PowerSchool customers outside the United States also began receiving emails this week. This has left many asking if this is the same threat actor from the incident earlier this year. 'We can't confirm if this is the same actor. In our conversation with PowerSchool, they have indications it's the same threat actor, but can't verify that,' said Wrenn. State Superintendent Green says the contract with PowerSchool ends June 30, and all schools will start using a new system July 1. 'Infinite Campus was chosen for a number of reasons; they have a more modern and comprehensive solution that will support our students, parents, and educators,' he said. In the meantime, they're expressing regret to see this happen again. 'I do want to express my regret to our students, parents, teachers, and school district members affected by this incident. We support you and are working to make sure your info isn't further compromised,' said Green. The incident is under investigation, and state officials are taking proactive measures. They advise if you receive an email, do not engage with it and report it to the NC Department of Public Instruction. They say PowerSchool is offering credit monitoring and ID theft protection through July 31. You can find this information here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
School districts hit with extortion attempts months after education tech data breach
One of the largest providers of education tech paid off hackers so that they wouldn't publish tens of millions of children's personal information. But school districts are facing extortion attempts anyway. The company, PowerSchool, missed a basic cybersecurity step, according to a cybersecurity audit obtained by NBC News, and was hacked last year, leading to one of the largest breaches to date of American children's personal data. PowerSchool reportedly paid an undisclosed sum to the hackers in exchange for a video of them purporting to delete the files they had stolen, which included some students' Social Security numbers and other information, like health and disciplinary records. But "a threat actor" is using that stolen data to try to extort schools and school districts in both the U.S. and Canada, according to statements from PowerSchool and various school districts issued Wednesday. "PowerSchool is aware that a threat actor has reached out to multiple school district customers in an attempt to extort them using data from the previously reported December 2024 incident," PowerSchool wrote in a statement Wednesday. "We do not believe this is a new incident, as samples of data match the data previously stolen in December." Public schools across North Carolina received extortion emails Wednesday morning, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Mo Green said in a public bulletin. The threat actor appears to have students' and staffers' names, contact information, birthdays, medical information, parental information, and in some cases Social Security numbers, he said. Several Canadian school authorities have announced they are also among the victims, including the Peel District School Board in Ontario and the Toronto District School Board. The Calgary Board of Education also issued a warning to parents this week based on communication it had received from PowerSchool. It was not immediately clear who was behind the current extortion attempt. PowerSchool said it believes that the threat actor is using data stolen from the original incident last year, indicating that the original hackers either are behind the current attempts or kept the data and made it accessible to other people. 'We have reported this matter to law enforcement both in the United States and in Canada and are working closely with our customers to support them. We sincerely regret these developments– it pains us that our customers are being threatened and re-victimized by bad actors,' PowerSchool's statement said. 'As is always the case with these situations, there was a risk that the bad actors would not delete the data they stole, despite assurances and evidence that were provided to us,' it said. It is not clear if other American school districts had been victims of the renewed extortion attempt. PowerSchool declined to name victims, saying only that it was aware of 'multiple school district customers.' A majority of U.S. states have at least one school district that was affected by the original breach. PowerSchool is one of the largest companies in the educational technology industry, which became particularly widespread during the Covid pandemic and uses software to streamline school processes. One of its primary programs helps school districts track students, and the company servers stored information like their names, family members, addresses and birthdays. This article was originally published on
NBC News
07-05-2025
- NBC News
School districts hit with extortion attempts months after education tech data breach
One of the largest providers of education tech paid off hackers so that they wouldn't publish tens of millions of children's personal information. But school districts are facing extortion attempts anyway. The company, PowerSchool, missed a basic cybersecurity step, according to a cybersecurity audit obtained by NBC News, and was hacked last year, leading to one of the largest breaches to date of American children's personal data. PowerSchool reportedly paid an undisclosed sum to the hackers in exchange for a video of them purporting to delete the files they had stolen, which included some students' Social Security numbers and other information, like health and disciplinary records. But "a threat actor" is using that stolen data to try to extort schools and school districts in both the U.S. and Canada, according to statements from PowerSchool and various school districts issued Wednesday. "PowerSchool is aware that a threat actor has reached out to multiple school district customers in an attempt to extort them using data from the previously reported December 2024 incident," PowerSchool wrote in a statement Wednesday. "We do not believe this is a new incident, as samples of data match the data previously stolen in December." Public schools across North Carolina received extortion emails Wednesday morning, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Mo Green said in a public bulletin. The threat actor appears to have students' and staffers' names, contact information, birthdays, medical information, parental information, and in some cases Social Security numbers, he said. Several Canadian school authorities have announced they are also among the victims, including the Peel District School Board in Ontario and the Toronto District School Board. The Calgary Board of Education also issued a warning to parents this week based on communication it had received from PowerSchool. It was not immediately clear who was behind the current extortion attempt. PowerSchool said it believes that the threat actor is using data stolen from the original incident last year, indicating that the original hackers either are behind the current attempts or kept the data and made it accessible to other people. 'We have reported this matter to law enforcement both in the United States and in Canada and are working closely with our customers to support them. We sincerely regret these developments– it pains us that our customers are being threatened and re-victimized by bad actors,' PowerSchool's statement said. 'As is always the case with these situations, there was a risk that the bad actors would not delete the data they stole, despite assurances and evidence that were provided to us,' it said. It is not clear if other American school districts had been victims of the renewed extortion attempt. PowerSchool declined to name victims, saying only that it was aware of 'multiple school district customers.' A majority of U.S. states have at least one school district that was affected by the original breach. PowerSchool is one of the largest companies in the educational technology industry, which became particularly widespread during the Covid pandemic and uses software to streamline school processes. One of its primary programs helps school districts track students, and the company servers stored information like their names, family members, addresses and birthdays.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gov. Josh Stein proposes public school bond, stipend for teachers in school administrator's conference speech
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Some of the best state leaders in education are coming together for the 2025 North Carolina Association of School Administrators conference. Thursday, hundreds of administrators got the chance to join in on sessions and hear from educators on the state of schools. Governor Stein also spoke at the conference. In front of a large crowd, he highlighted his proposed budget when it comes to education. He called on the importance of recruiting and retaining teachers. He also highlighted teacher pay raises, a proposed $300 stipend to help teachers offset costs in the classroom and the importance of cell phone-free classrooms. In addition, he also discussed his proposed $4 billion public school bond to fix aging schools. 'I recognize that a number of the issues I've talked about involve money but here's the thing we can afford these things if we prioritize these things. We don't have to squander money the way we are with private school vouchers,' said Stein. State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Mo Green, also spoke at the conference Thursday. He told the crowd he is in the process of doing a listening and learning tour to hear from teachers and students across the state about their biggest needs for North Carolina private schools. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
