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The total scope of PowerSchool data breach is still unclear as impacted individuals are contacted

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
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Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

A third-party software provider that maintains student and teacher data for school districts across the country disclosed it suffered a data breach earlier this month.

North Carolina says hundreds of thousands of Social Security numbers could have been compromised, but the full scale of the PowerSchool breach is still not clear.

Since PowerSchool first disclosed the breach to schools on Jan. 7, there’s been no official word on how many students or teachers had their information compromised. A recent report from cybersecurity news site Bleeping Computer listed the number at more than 70 million students and teachers. The report listed Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools as one of the largest districts affected by the breach, with nearly 500,000 students and 60,000 teachers impacted.

PowerSchool referred WFAE to its website, where the company said on Friday it could not confirm precise numbers because its data analysis is ongoing.

CMS confirmed PowerSchool has not provided the district with any information on the total number of students and teachers affected. Instead, PowerSchool is reaching out directly to all affected individuals and offering complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services. Compromised data could include Social Security numbers, birth dates, medical information or contact information.

While the state’s Department of Public Instruction was unable to confirm whether the numbers in the Bleeping Computer report were correct– it did say officials know of 312,000 teachers and 910 students across the state whose Social Security numbers were exposed in the breach.

PowerSchool said the threat has been contained and believes the stolen data has since been destroyed.

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James Farrell is WFAE's education reporter. Farrell has served as a reporter for several print publications in Buffalo, N.Y., and weekend anchor at WBFO Buffalo Toronto Public Media. Most recently he has served as a breaking news reporter for Forbes.
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