PowerSchool Cybersecurity Offerings

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Summary

For schools, districts, and boards, the days of focusing on the "Three R's" have long since passed...now more than ever, educators must not only address Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmatic, but Ransomware, too. Failing to do so not only risks exposing sensitive staff and student data to malicious actors but creates legal and financial liability for your institution as well. PowerSchool considers us to be your partner in this ongoing fight, and our Technical Solutions Group ("TSG") is here to help in several ways.  

Introducing the PowerSchool Security Review Service
There are never any guarantees that your institution can fly under the radar of the bad guys; whether it is a student attempting to change their grades or a hacker wanting to ransom your data, there are many reasons for and many methods of intrusion into your environment. For many educators, you may never be aware of the risks until it's too late. The Security Review Service will audit various elements of your environment and provide you with an easy-to-understand report of the sources of threats and vulnerabilities for you to act upon if you so choose.

Why You Should Upgrade to PowerSchool 19 and Windows Server 2016
By upgrading to PowerSchool 19, you will be joining with the thousands of customers who are already benefiting from the many new features and improvements to security that PowerSchool 19 offers. In addition, PowerSchool is pleased to announce the certification of Windows Server 2016.  Together, this platform provides:

• Mandatory SSL/TLS encryption of packets
• Enforced use of SFTP and disabling of FTP data transmission. 
• Additional logging of user actions for tracking and auditing
• Reinforced page, file, and system restrictions
• Enforced password complexity and management for administrators, teachers, and guardians.
• Built-in malware protection
• Microsoft Device Guard: ensures driver and application integrity.
• Microsoft Credential Guard: protects against credential theft.
• Better integration with Active Directory Federated Services
• "Just Enough Administration": limits local admin users from running unapproved PowerShell cmdlets.

But Why Stop at Just One Upgrade?!?
As an alternative to the one-time upgrade, TSG offers our industry-leading Enterprise Management Service ("EMS") offering that includes the upgrade to PowerSchool 19, the upgrade to Windows Server 2016, and the Security Review Service in addition to the following features:

• 24/7/365 environment monitoring 
• Unlimited PowerSchool, Oracle, Compliance, SIF, and OS updates and upgrades 
• Nightly data backups and 365 days of offsite retention 
• Unlimited data and server migrations, restorations, and refreshes 
• Interaction directly with TSG 24/7/363 
• Non-Production ("Sandbox") instance coverage 
• TLS cert, procurement, administration, integration, and renewal
• Annual cybersecurity audit of the entire environment and unlimited consulting
• Quarterly cybersecurity audits of passwords
  
  

Why You Should Trust TSG
TSG has performed more PowerSchool upgrades than anyone and nobody knows the process better. The upgrade to PowerSchool 19 requires little preparation on your part and is performed in its entirety by TSG within one to two days. TSG's cybersecurity services are designed by our staff who have previously developed curriculum, best practices, and protocols for the FBI Academy and the Department of Defense, and we think the stakes are no less high for your school or district, too. 

No matter your unique circumstances and needs, TSG has the option that is right for you. For those customers without compatible or supported hardware or operating systems, we encourage you to learn more about our bundle of hardware, software, upgrade services, and ongoing environment support. 

Why The Time to Secure PowerSchool Has Never Been Better
TSG is very pleased to announce that, for a limited time, we will be waiving the $2400 weekend fees normally associated with the provision of our PowerSchool Upgrade services during weekends. These services include the migration from a legacy server to a new server, if necessary, and the upgrade to PowerSchool 19. Weekend upgrades are initiated on Fridays after the close of the school day and are completed before the start of school on Monday so that no downtime is incurred during normal school hours. Customers are not required to be on-site during this time and need only be available by phone in the event our staff needs to contact you. We are equally excited to offer EMS at a 25% discount off the price for the first year of the service.  These discounts will not last long, so contact TSG at tsghelpdesk@powerschool.com