PowerSchool data breach: 3 takeaways from a Cybersecurity Expert

At least six metro school districts are on high alert after a national software vendor the districts use announced a data breach.

PowerSchool, a third-party vendor that manages Student Information Systems, announced last week that it was hacked at the end of December.

News 9 confirms Piedmont, Mustang, Mid-Del, Yukon, Enid, and Epic Charter school districts were all impacted.

Mustang Public Schools confirms that the social security numbers of at least 15 staff members have appeared to be compromised. Yukon and Enid Public Schools say that most of the directory information, like names and phone numbers, was stolen.

Meanwhile, Piedmont Public Schools is reassuring parents that sensitive information like social security numbers was not stored in PowerSchool.

PowerSchool released a statement saying the company is "...working to complete our investigation of the incident and are coordinating with districts and schools to provide more information and resources…”

News 9 consulted a cybersecurity expert on the situation. Here are three key takeaways:

Know where your information is

“Being aware of that, being sensitive to that, and then it's always just good practice. Watch your financials. Watch your credit. Have some automated systems pay for a service that does that for you,” Todd Wedel said.

Wedel works with Alias Cybersecurity, the largest company of its kind in Oklahoma. He said the number one thing you can do is be aware of where your information is.

Be informed

Wedel said folks also need to make sure they are informed before sharing sensitive personal information in online forums.

He explained just because a company or a website asks for your social security number, doesn’t mean it needs it.

“Data security is huge, but it also can be very daunting,” Wedel said.

Keep a close eye

If you think your information may have been stolen, Wedel said the best thing you can do is be vigilant and keep a close watch over your financials.

“Look at your credit, check your credit, lock your credit would be best,” Wedel said. “Look through your financials, look for any unusual transactions.”

Wedel advises this as the best course of action for families and staff who think their information could have been compromised in the PowerSchool data breach.

In the meantime, PowerSchool said its investigation into the incident is still ongoing.