I want to share an important update about a cyber incident involving PowerSchool, an application used by the YMCA Academy and many independent schools and school boards across North America to store a range of student information. You may have seen or heard news coverage about it this morning as many independent schools and school boards have also been impacted.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, January 7, 2025, PowerSchool notified us and other independent schools and school boards in Ontario and across North America that on December 28, 2024 they became aware of a data breach and immediately implemented cybersecurity response protocols.
Our cybersecurity team is actively working with PowerSchool to understand the nature of the incident and specifically what personal information may have been affected. At this point in time, PowerSchool has confirmed that both staff and student information was involved, we are still determining the exact types information that may have been accessed or exported. PowerSchool has indicated it does not anticipate the data being shared or made public, and the company believes it has been deleted without any further replication or dissemination.
If it is determined that any personal information has been impacted, we will let you know as soon as possible.
We are also advising the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
We know this news may be concerning and are doing all we can to learn more from PowerSchool about what occurred and will share that information with you.
Sincerely,
Tim Seabrook
Head of School