Dear WHSD School Community,
We are writing to continue to update you regarding the recent cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, the software vendor that provides our Student Information System (SIS). Our goal is to be as informative and transparent as possible as PowerSchool, a global company that works with many school districts across the country, shares additional information about their issue with us.
It's important to reiterate that this data breach occurred within PowerSchool, not within any systems directly managed by the Woodland Hills School District. Since the breach occurred, PowerSchool implemented a series of measures to secure their systems, including resetting passwords and deactivating compromised credentials. While the breach did not occur within Woodland Hills systems, our technology department also conducted a comprehensive review of security procedures to ensure all data and sensitive information was secure.
As for next steps, PowerSchool has engaged Experian, a trusted credit reporting agency, to provide complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services to current and former students and educators that had information exfiltrated from PowerSchool SIS. PowerSchool is doing this regardless of whether an individual’s Social Security Number was taken. In our case, we can ensure that SS numbers were not stolen as we do not store them in our PowerSchool SIS server. In the coming weeks, Experian (on behalf of PowerSchool) will be distributing direct email notifications to involved individuals (staff, parents/guardians, as applicable) for whom PowerSchool has sufficient contact information.
Additionally, PowerSchool has worked with Experian to set up a dedicated, toll-free call center to answer any questions associated with these offerings and the incident. All the information regarding the activation of and access to these services will be included in the email sent to you by Experian. Whether or not you receive an email, you may also visit PowerSchool’s website to learn how to activate the offering from Experian, linked here: http://www.powerschool.com/security/sis-incident/notice-of-united-states-data-breach/.
The Woodland Hills School District takes privacy and data security seriously and is disappointed that this breach occurred with one of the vendors we’ve entrusted with sensitive student and family information. Protecting our students, families, and staff remains our top priority, and the district will continue to monitor communication and updates from PowerSchool to ensure that it continues to take the appropriate corrective action and that it is adhering to the rigorous cybersecurity standards our community deserves.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding.
Sincerely,
Woodland Hills School District Administration, School Board, & Technology Department