Dive Brief:
- Educators in Topeka, KS, were able to access legally protected information on students' socio-economic backgrounds through the PowerSchool student information system.
- The software revealed which students are eligible for free-and-reduced lunch
- A data exporting function was disabled Wednesday to prevent further leaks following further proof that the issue hadn't been corrected.
Dive Insight:
Superintendent Julie Ford told the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday that the problem had been totally fixed, but someone from within the school was still able to illegally access the data and share it with the Topeka Capital-Journal as proof.
This is by no means an isolated incident. As more districts nationwide put data onto larger online platforms, it will become easier for security breaches to occur — intentional or not.