PowerSchool says it paid ransom in December cyberattack
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PowerSchool, the popular education technology vendor that works with 75% of U.S. school districts, said it paid a ransom to hackers during its December data breach.
Why it matters: It's rare for ransomware victims to admit that they've paid hackers, and security experts often frown upon the practice because it could further embolden the cybercriminals behind the attacks.
Catch up quick: PowerSchool said in December it was the victim of a data breach that affected several school districts.
- The specific information hackers stole varies by school district, but in many cases, hackers accessed student ID numbers, birth dates, home addresses, medical alerts and even free and in some cases even reduced meal status information.
The big picture: Ransomware victims often pay a ransom either to unlock the systems the hackers have locked them out of or prevent the hackers from publishing stolen sensitive data on the dark web.
- PowerSchool said in the statement sent to reporters Wednesday that it made the "very difficult and considered decision" to help prevent a data leak.
- "It was a difficult decision, and one which our leadership team did not make lightly," the company said.
Yes, but: PowerSchool warned it is always possible that the hackers might not follow through on their promises to delete any stolen data.
- The company noted it has made credit monitoring and identity protection services available to students and faculty members at affected schools for the next two year.s
Threat level: PowerSchool also said in a statement the hackers behind the attack have "reached out to multiple school district customers in an attempt to extort them" using data stolen during the event.
- "We sincerely regret these developments — it pains us that our customers are being threatened and re-victimized by bad actors," the company added.
The intrigue: Ransomware gangs actually didn't make as much money from ransom payments last year after successful law enforcement intervention, according to Chainalysis data.
Go deeper: How a ransomware attack works
