The Prairie Rose School Division main office located in Cypress County, just south of Medicine Hat. File Photo/CHAT News

By Canadian Press, CHAT News Staff

EDUCATION

Canada’s privacy czar launches investigation into student information data breach

Feb 11, 2025 | 11:03 AM

The federal privacy watchdog said Tuesday he has launched a formal investigation into a cybersecurity breach involving a student information system used across Canada.

Privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne said the probe was launched after his office received a breach report from U.S.-based PowerSchool, which provides the affected software, and a complaint about the incident.

PowerSchool told school boards in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and elsewhere across North America that it experienced a data breach between Dec. 22 and 28.

The breach impacted Medicine Hat’s public and Catholic school boards while Prairie Rose School Division was spared.

PowerSchool also told the division that data accessed by an unauthorized user was deleted and no copies were kept or shared.

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The Medicine Hat Public School Division said in a statement there wasn’t any financial information involved in the breach.

The public and Catholic divisions both said that strengthened security measures have been put in place to prevent further hacks.

The Toronto District School Board said last month that its students’ addresses, health card numbers, emergency contacts and some medical information may have been stolen in the data breach.

Dufresne said his “immediate focus” is to ensure that PowerSchool is taking measures to reduce the risk to those affected by the breach and prevent this from happening again.

He said the company is notifying affected Canadians and offering them credit monitoring and identity protection services.