PowerSchool cyberattack breaches Sask.'s Prairie Spirit School Division data

Saskatchewan's Prairie Spirit School Division says it's among the divisions affected by a North American-wide cyberattack.

The division sent a letter to families Friday notifying them it had been targeted in a significant data breach connected to PowerSchool, a widely used outside provider that manages functions like students' personal information and communication with parents.

This week, multiple school divisions across Canada — including the country's largest — informed families they were affected by the cyberattack involving PowerSchool, a California-based provider of cloud software to over 16,000 customers in more than 90 countries.

The Prairie Spirit letter notes the division, whose schools surround Saskatoon, used the software for managing school data from 2009 to 2022.

The data primarily included parent, student and teacher contact information, including names and addresses, the division said.

"We recognize the critical importance of protecting personal information, and we want to assure you that this matter is being treated with the utmost urgency," said the letter.

Prairie Spirit has 45 schools and over 11,000 students, according to its website.

The division added that no action is required from families and it will update them when they get more information from PowerSchool.

"PowerSchool will continue their analysis and provide more information and resources, including credit monitoring or identity protection services, if applicable."

The division assured families in the letter that the software company has taken steps to stop future attacks.