Education, Hardwick, News

OSSU Student, Staff, Financial Data Escape Cybersecurity Breach

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HARDWICK – Orleans Southwest Supervisory Union (OSSU) was contacted Monday, Jan. 7, by its Student Information System (SIS) provider, PowerSchool to inform them of a cyber security incident affecting OSSU schools SIS data, according to a notice published Thursday, Jan. 9.

The security breach affecting many Vermont School Districts was reported by VTDigger.

“As soon as we received this information, OSSU IT Manager Carter Norheim began an investigation to determine what, if any, data was accessed,” said the notice. “Based on our investigation and consultation with our cyber threat response resources we have determined that no staff or current student data was accessed that requires further action and we have confirmed that our financial systems were not accessed.

OSSU staff continue to work with PowerSchool, its cyberthreat insurers and legal team to ensure it is taking the appropriate action, said the notice.

OSSU Superintendent Dr. David Baker said, “We are working with third-party specialists to determine what happened and to what extent our district’s data is involved. Based on our preliminary review, no sensitive data regarding our current staff or students was impacted. We are in the process of confirming whether any sensitive historical data may have been impacted, and we will update relevant parties as information becomes available. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we investigate this issue.”

Those with questions about the incident can contact OSSU Director of Operations Joe Houston via email at [email protected] or by phone (802) 472-2934.

Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.

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