Student Information Systems (SIS) are used by all K-12 schools and contain personal and academic data on students and staff. Unfortunately, this makes them attractive to cybercriminals. A recent data breach at PowerSchool has once again exposed how K-12 schools are in the crosshairs of cybercriminals, threatening millions of records of sensitive personal information. This devastating but relatively simple breach should be a reminder to K-12 IT administrators that understanding and implementing SIS security measures is critical.
SIS platforms can be hosted on-premises or delivered through Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), giving schools flexibility in managing their student data—yet many administrators assume these systems are inherently secure, leaving them vulnerable to the same threats facing any internet-based software solution.
Attackers may exploit and leverage misconfigurations, outdated software, or phishing tactics. A data breach does not necessarily require sophisticated hacking techniques; sometimes, it’s as straightforward as a cybercriminal obtaining a valid username and password. In many cases, this occurs because the K-12 School District and/or SIS platform fails to enforce fundamental security measures—such as strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, or strict access controls.
If a school employee or vendor representative uses easily guessable credentials or falls for a simple phishing scam, it can grant attackers direct access to critical student information. These seemingly minor oversights highlight a larger truth: breaches are not always about high-tech exploits or zero-day vulnerabilities. They often stem from a lapse in basic cybersecurity standards, creating a glaring entry point for criminals.
Schools that view SIS security as a shared responsibility—requiring both platform safeguards and staff vigilance—are much better positioned to protect sensitive data from opportunistic threats.
Why Are SIS Platforms Particularly Attractive to Cybercriminals?
Student Information Systems (SIS) are software platforms used by schools, colleges, and universities to manage and store a wide range of academic and administrative data. These systems typically house everything from student demographic records, grades, and class schedules to attendance logs, health information, and disciplinary reports. Many SIS solutions also integrate payment tracking, financial aid details, and parental contact information, creating a convenient hub for educators, administrators, and students to access critical data in real time.
However, the wealth of sensitive information within an SIS platform becomes a prime target for cybercriminals. Unauthorized access to these systems—whether through hacking, phishing, or insider threats—can reveal a substantial volume of personally identifiable information, academic records, and financial details.
In the wrong hands, this data can facilitate identity theft, fraud, and other malicious activities that compromise student privacy and school credibility. Beyond the immediate disruptions, a data breach can result in long-term reputational damage for the institution, costly legal repercussions, and a loss of trust among parents, students, and staff.
Criminal Exploitation of Stolen Student Records
When a cybercriminal steals thousands of student records from a school’s SIS, they typically gain access to high value sensitive data—such as names, addresses, birthdates, and Social Security numbers—that can be directly or indirectly monetized. In many cases, the stolen information is sold on the dark web, enabling other criminals to open fraudulent credit accounts, file bogus tax returns, or even fabricate identities for more elaborate scams. Criminals also leverage the data to craft targeted phishing or social engineering campaigns, tricking parents, students, and staff into disclosing additional personal or financial details.
“I’m a parent who uses PowerSchool, so I know what millions of North Carolina families are concerned about with this data breach,” – NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson
Beyond selling and misusing the data directly, cybercriminals may also resort to ransom demands, threatening to release the compromised records publicly unless the school pays up. This type of extortion can place enormous financial and reputational pressure on an institution, which risks losing the trust of its community and potentially violating privacy regulations if sensitive student data is exposed. Unfortunately, the repercussions can linger for years, with victims and their families facing identity theft issues, credit damage, and ongoing anxiety over unauthorized use of their personal information.
Why Schools Struggle to Provide Adequate Cybersecurity
School administrators often operate under tight financial constraints, channeling resources first into pressing academic or infrastructure needs while overlooking cybersecurity. Many institutions also lack specialized IT security personnel, leaving them unable to fully grasp and respond to evolving digital threats. This resource gap—coupled with an underestimation of how attractive student data is to criminals—contributes to out-of-date systems, weak network defenses, and a general lack of robust security infrastructure.
Key Challenges for School Cybersecurity
- Limited Budgets: Resources often go toward academic materials over security tools.
- Lack of Expertise: Few schools have dedicated IT security professionals.
- Underestimation of Threat: Administrators may assume schools are low-value targets.
- Rapid Ed-Tech Adoption: New tools are rolled out quickly, sometimes without thorough vetting.
- Minimal Staff Training: Teachers, students, and staff may be unaware of best practices.
Further compounding the issue is the rapid adoption of digital tools to support learning, which sometimes happens without comprehensive risk assessments. Teachers, staff, and students may not receive adequate security awareness training, making human error a prime vulnerability. Legacy software and fragmented systems add additional layers of risk, as they are often not patched or integrated securely. Collectively, these factors make schools appealing targets, highlighting the urgent need for more proactive and well-funded cybersecurity strategies.
Protecting Your SIS Data Through Cybersecurity Integration
In the PowerSchool case, the nations leading SIS vendor with 18,000 school districts, an unauthorized actor gained access to the company’s support system, exposing multiple school districts to compromise. The extent and volume of information stolen is unknown, but many districts have reported sensitive data was stored in PowerSchool’s system. This incident exposes the risk K-12 school districts face with external applications. However, integration between an SIS platform and a cybersecurity platform enables schools to detect and prevent breaches before critical data is compromised.
Through a tight integration and the monitoring for compromised Single sign-on (SSO) credentials, the integrated solution can flag unstructured or unscripted events—such as unexpected file transfers or unusual login locations—that suggest a potential infiltration attempt. When suspicious activity is identified, automated alerts immediately notify IT teams, allowing them to intervene and contain the threat. This proactive, real-time approach not only protects sensitive student records but also underscores the importance of seamless collaboration between SIS solutions and modern cybersecurity defenses.
Securus360 provides a comprehensive 24/7/365 Managed eXtended Detection and Response (MXDR) platform that is coupled with a deep expertise and understanding when integrating with a school district’s SIS solution to provide the most advanced cybersecurity platform available. This unique combination of technologies empowers a robust defense against attacks by delivering far reaching capabilities unavailable to a stand alone SIS system. The Securus360 MXDR system sees all the activities within the school's network and then correlates that data with the information from the SIS system to identify suspicious activity and bad actors before they can do damage.
Focused exclusively on K-12 school districts, Securus360 is uniquely qualified to deliver the most effective solution available to prevent the loss of student and staff personally identifiable information.
Reference:
PowerSchool data breach affected 16,000 students in the UK
North Carolina Attorney General investigating PowerSchool following data breach
