SOMERSET COUNTY, MD - School district officials say a cyber attack compromised the data of students, family and staff.
Somerset County Public Schools made the announcement on Jan. 10. According to officials, on Jan. 7, PowerSchool, the company that provides Somerset County Public Schools’ (SCPS) student information system, announced a cybersecurity incident affecting the data of customers nationwide.
School officials say the data includes contact information like names and mailing addresses. Across their customer base, PowerSchool has determined that for a portion of individuals, some personally identifiable information (PII), such as social security numbers, was impacted. PowerSchool is working to determine whether PII belonging to staff and students was included. SCPS says PowerSchool has confirmed that the breached data file has been deleted and is no longer accessible.
In a statement, SCPS says "While PowerSchool is responsible for this incident and its impact, our team acted swiftly once we were notified and is continuing to investigate. SCPS understands the importance of your trust and is diligently committed to protecting our student and staff data. We are coordinating with PowerSchool and other information technology leaders in Maryland to fully assess this situation and safeguard our community."
School officials say discussions with PowerSchool leadership made it clear that there was no additional action SCPS could have taken to prevent the breach. PowerSchool reportedly told school officials that the incident was an attack on the company, not any particular school system. SCPS says with PowerSchool’s help, more information and resources (including credit monitoring or identity protection services if applicable) will be provided as it becomes available.
