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The Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) has been affected by a cyber incident involving PowerSchool, a system used to store student and staff information.
On Saturday, December 28th, PowerSchool detected unauthorized access to certain data, though the company confirmed the information was deleted and not posted online. HCDSB says they were notified on Tuesday, January 7th, and have since worked with experts to assess the impact.
For students enrolled between September 2015 and December 2024, the compromised data includes:
- Basic details: Name, Ontario Education Number (OEN), gender, birthdate, address, parent/guardian names, and contact information.
- Additional details (for some students): Medical alerts, emergency contacts, graduation year, grade, and homeroom.
- Rare cases: Doctor’s name and phone number.
- Not compromised: Financial data, Social Insurance Numbers (SINs), health records, academic grades, or Individual Education Plans (IEPs).
For staff employed between September 2020 and December 2024, the affected data includes:
- Name, employee number, HCDSB email, and Ministry Number (MEN).
- SINs were not compromised.
PowerSchool is offering two years of free identity protection (Experian) to all affected students and staff. Credit monitoring (TransUnion) is also available for students aged 18+ and staff. Parents, guardians, and emergency contacts are not eligible for these services.
For more information, affected individuals should contact PowerSchool or HCDSB directly. PowerSchool has created a call centre to address questions regarding these services. If you have any questions or concerns, please call 833-918-7884, Monday through Friday, 8:00am through 8:00pm Central Time (excluding major US holidays). Please be prepared to provide engagement number B138905.
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