January PowerSchool data breach was not the first

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - In early January, PowerSchool, a software company that manages sensitive data for many school districts nationwide, was victimized by a nationwide data breach, exposing loads of information to hackers. An investigation by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike found that a prior hack occurred between August and September of 2024.

Corey Mock of North Dakota’s Department of Information and Technology (NDDDIT) said the initial breach happened too long ago for PowerSchool to trace the hack to a specific group, but NDDIT took the necessary steps in January and February to protect the information of North Dakota school systems.

He also said that PowerSchool reached a financial agreement with the hackers to have the sensitive information destroyed.

“We don’t like to take the bad guys at their word, if you will, to trust the hackers, I guess. It just doesn’t quite settle well with us. So, we acted out of an abundance of caution in locking down the system originally,” said Mock.

Mack said that by the beginning of the 2026 school year, the state will no longer be collaborating with PowerSchool and will implement a new information system.