Yan Shvartzshnaider receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Counci

Cyberattack affecting school boards spotlights the need for better EdTech regulation in Ontario and beyond

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2025-01-14 18:00:06

Yan Shvartzshnaider receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Issues surrounding students’ data and schools’ use of educational technology (EdTech) are in the spotlight as school boards in six provinces respond to a “significant cyberattack” on an administration software platform.

According to CTV, the company PowerSchool informed school districts that “hackers infiltrated its systems using a compromised credential to gain access to one of their portals, PowerSource.” The infiltration happened between Dec. 19 and 23, 2024. The breach “may have compromised sensitive personal information of students including names, addresses, health card numbers and medical details” as well as “personal and sensitive information,” of staff.

The news is unsettling. Parents and caregivers know that today, for a child’s schooling, they or their child must deal with an EdTech service for communication, homework, scheduling, exams or general learning tasks. “Learning management systems,” web-based technology for different aspects of learning, are becoming ubiquitous in today’s schools.