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

By: The Canadian Press Posted: Last Modified:

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

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/02/2025 (596 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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

Privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne says 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.

The majority of Manitoba school divisions have been impacted by the breach.

A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023 in this photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
A man uses a computer keyboard in Toronto, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023 in this photo illustration. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy

PowerSchool has 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 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 says 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 says the company is notifying affected Canadians and offering them credit monitoring and identity protection services.

— The Canadian Press 

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