MANDAN, ND (KXNET) — Mandan Public Schools is reporting today it was among schools hit by a nationwide cybersecurity incident involving the online software PowerSchool. PowerSchool is a web-based software system used by K-12 schools to help manage student and teacher information and other data. According to a statement from Mandan Public Schools, the North Dakota Information Technology Department is actively working with PowerSchool to investigate the extent of the incident and figure out what data was affected. Mandan says it was notified of the cybersecurity attack January 8. PowerSchool has been quoted in numerous reports as indicating the attack took place December 28, 2024. Beyond this statement, Mandan Public Schools is saying little else until more information becomes available. There's no word yet on whether the cybersecurity incident has affected Bismarck schools or other schools across the state. A PowerSchool statement posted to a Georgia School District notifying them they, too, were affected by the breach stated, "PowerSchool become aware of a potential cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain information through one of our community-focused customer support portals, PowerSource. Over the succeeding days, our investigation determined that an unauthorized party gained access to certain PowerSchool Student Information System (“SIS”) customer data using a compromised credential." PowerSchool noted in its statement the data breach was localized. "The unauthorized access point was isolated to our PowerSource portal. As the PowerSource portal only permits access to the SIS database, we can confirm no other PowerSchool products were affected as a result of this incident. Importantly, the incident is contained, and we have no evidence of malware or continued unauthorized activity in the PowerSchool environment. PowerSchool is not experiencing, nor expects to experience, any operational disruption and continues to provide services as normal to our customers." The PowerSchool website indicates the organization's software serves 60 million students in more than 18,000 school organizations in 90 countries. This is a breaking story — check back for updates as they become available. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW