January 13, 2025

PowerSchool has created an FAQ to help answer many questions. You can access the FAQ on the PowerSchool website.

 

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January 10, 2025

Dear CCA Community School District Families,

We are reaching out to inform you about a cybersecurity incident involving PowerSchool, a platform utilized by our district. On December 28, 2024, PowerSchool became aware of unauthorized access to certain information on its Student Information System (SIS). This breach was part of a global incident affecting many districts across the country, including Clear Creek Amana Schools. This was not a localized incident.

What Happened?

Unauthorized access to PowerSchool’s SIS occurred on December 22, 2024. PowerSchool identified the issue on December 28, 2024, and notified customers, including our district, on January 7, 2025.

What Information Was Involved?

This breach includes personally identifiable information (PII) for a significant number of students, staff, and families within our district. Our IT team has confirmed that the following information may have been accessed:

• Current Students: Some PII including names, dates of birth (DOB),addresses, medical alerts, and additional sensitive fields.
• Former Students (who left CCA in 2004 - 2013): For some former students social security numbers were accessed in addition to the fields listed above.
• Current and Former Staff: Some PowerSchool usernames, phone numbers, teacher numbers, and addresses.

PowerSchool has assured us there is no evidence of misuse or public dissemination of the breached data. Additionally, PowerSchool engaged CyberSteward, a professional advisor, who has provided reasonable assurances that the data has been deleted without further replication or dissemination. PowerSchool has also engaged cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike to continuously monitor for any future release of the compromised data.

What Actions Are Being Taken?

• Credit / Identity Monitoring: PowerSchool is offering credit monitoring for affected adults and identity protection for affected minors. Eligible individuals will be notified as more details become available.
• Improved Security Measures: PowerSchool has enhanced its password policies, access controls, and monitoring systems to prevent future breaches.
• District IT Response: CCA will work to review past data stored in PowerSchool to determine what information can be removed from the system. We will review policies around the retention of records in our student information system. 

How Does This Affect You?

As a precaution, we recommend the following steps to protect your information:

1. Change Passwords: If you have a PowerSchool account, update your password to a strong, unique one. If you use this for additional personal accounts, we recommend you change your password in those places as well. 
2. Monitor Accounts: Regularly review accounts for suspicious activity.
3. Beware of Phishing: Be cautious of unsolicited emails or messages related to PowerSchool or Clear Creek Amana Community School District. Do not click on unknown links or provide personal information.
4. Update Contact Information: Ensure your contact details in PowerSchool are accurate to receive timely updates. You can check your student’s contact information in your Parent Portal under “Review Contacts” in the left hand menu.

Next Steps

In the coming weeks, specific instructions will be announced by PowerSchool for those eligible to access credit monitoring and identity protection services. Only individuals eligible for credit report monitoring will receive the notice containing these details.

It is important to know that it is safe to log in to the parent portal to check your student’s information, access Purchases and Payments, and complete registration in the near future. 

As a precautionary measure we will be implementing a plan to reset all student (not parent) PowerSchool portal passwords.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we navigate this matter.