Privacy breach alerts and information
Alerts and information about the privacy breaches.
On 8 January 2025, the Government of Nova Scotia was informed that PowerSchool experienced a cybersecurity breach. Government was advised that personal information of some staff and current and former students in the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education was stolen as part of a global PowerSchool cybersecurity breach.
PowerSchool is a widely-used information system used to track enrolment, attendance and grades. It doesn’t include financial data like credit card information.
PowerSchool believes the breach is contained. Government is continuing its own investigation, with support from third-party cybersecurity firm IBM X-Force, to confirm the impacts to Nova Scotians. While the full impact is not yet clear, there’s no indication the PowerSchool system in any other centre for education has been affected.
If government notifies you about a breach
If government notifies you about your information being impacted in any breach, we won’t ask for your health card, social insurance number, banking information other personal information or money. Sometimes there are phishing or scam attempts that try to use a privacy breach to steal additional information. Be safe and don’t share your personal information if asked.
If you receive a letter addressed to someone who has passed away, there are steps you can take to help make sure their identity can't be accessed by criminals. You should notify the federal government of the death if you haven’t already.
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Jan
10 January 2025
- Government has determined that some social insurance numbers were included in stolen data. The social insurance numbers of approximately 250 employees of the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education who worked in the region prior to 2010 were compromised during the breach of the third-party student information system. No students, parents or staff who started after 2010 have social insurance information in PowerSchool.
- Teachers and other staff who worked in Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education prior to 2010 should monitor their bank accounts for any irregular activity. Those whose social insurance numbers were included in the breach will be contacted directly by government with more information and an offer of credit protection.
9 January 2025
- Notification letters sent to staff and families of current and former students in the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education who were impacted by the privacy breach.
8 to 9 January 2025
- The police, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner were notified of the breach. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security is also providing expert advice, guidance and support.
- Government started further investigation. IBM X-Force cybersecurity experts were also called in to help.
8 January 2025
- Government was advised that personal information of some staff and current and former students in the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education was stolen as part of a global PowerSchool cybersecurity breach.
News releases
Latest news releases and announcements:
Protecting your information
Cybersecurity is an issue for everyone, regardless of whether you are impacted by this breach or not. Steps you can take to protect yourself include:
- only install applications on your devices from well-known companies
- never share your password, always create strong passwords and use multifactor authentication where possible
- monitor your financial accounts and check your credit information regularly with TransUnion or Equifax
- limit your public computer use to non-sensitive transactions (and remember to log out of public computers when you finish using them)
If you’re worried about your personal information:
- contact your financial institution and any other companies to let them know that your personal information may be compromised
- contact TransUnion or Equifax and ask to have a fraud alert placed on your credit report (lenders need to contact you and confirm your identity before they approve any application for credit if a fraud alert is on your credit report)
For information on what to do if your social insurance number is compromised and how to protect it, visit Protecting your SIN or call 1-866-274-6627.