By Skylar Laird
SCDailyGazette.com
WEST COLUMBIA — South Carolina students and teachers were among those who had their personal information accessed in an international data breach, according to the state Department of Education.
All but four districts had their data accessed, the department said in a Thursday news release. A district having its data accessed does not necessarily mean the data was stolen, and the department is continuing to assess exactly how many students were affected, it reads.
The four districts not affected are Edgefield, Greenville, and Horry counties and Richland 2 in Columbia’s northeast suburbs, according to the news release.
It’s unclear what kind of data might have been stolen. The release says only that “personally identifiable information was compromised.” No further information is available, a department spokesman said.
PowerSchool is used by districts for a variety of purposes, including tracking student attendance and grades, schedules and training. The cloud-based software giant, which provides systems for more than 45 million students around the world, contained the data breach and has been taking steps to secure its systems, consult with cybersecurity experts and report the incident to law enforcement, according to the news release.
“We have taken all appropriate steps to prevent the data involved from further unauthorized access or misuse,” a spokesperson for PowerSchool said in a statement. “The incident is contained and we do not anticipate the data being shared or made public.”
State Superintendent Ellen Weaver said she recognizes the anxiety caused by the breach.
“While PowerSchool has taken accountability for this breach, our department will take uncompromising action to ensure we uncover the complete extent of this incident,” she said in the Wednesday release. “We will insist that PowerSchool not only notify affected individuals but also provide them with credit and identity monitoring services.”
Department of Education officials have been keeping the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Attorney General’s Office and the governor appraised of the situation, according to the release.
“The protection of our South Carolina students’ and educators’ personal data is non-negotiable,” Weaver said.
Addressing the PowerSchool Data Breach
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (SCDCA) urges parents to take steps to protect their children’s personal information following a data breach involving PowerSchool. The South Carolina Department of Education says all districts in the state except for four were included in a data breach involving the software. SCDCA encourages parents to:
— Check if your child has a credit report: Generally, a child under 18-years-old won’t have a file. Having a file could be a sign of identity theft. Contact each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax) and ask for a manual search for your child’s Social Security Number. They will require documents such as a driver’s license for proof that you are the child’s parent or guardian.
— Consider a Protected Consumer Freeze: This measure is free and allows you to create a credit file in your child’s name and place a freeze on it, preventing potential creditors from getting your child’s credit report. Place your request with each of the three credit reporting agencies: Experian, TransUnion, Equifax.
— Be on guard: Scam artists follow the headlines. Don’t give personal information to someone you don’t know. You will never receive a phone call, email, text or social media message from a government agency that demands money and/or personal information. Grab a copy of SCDCA’ s Ditch the Pitch to arm yourself with information to spot and avoid scams.
If someone is using your child’s info, contact SCDCA’s Identity Theft Unit at 800-922-1594 and submit an Identity Theft Intake Form. The Unit is dedicated to offering consumers tailored guidance on scams, security breaches and identity theft issues.
Skylar Laird covers the South Carolina Legislature and criminal justice issues. Originally from Missouri, she previously worked for The Post and Courier’s Columbia bureau. S.C. Daily Gazette is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
