MSCS mass messaging system taken offline due to data breach
Jeremiah Hall
The software used to distribute mass texts, emails, and calls was breached, but MSCS students and officials were not affected, said the district.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The software used by Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) to send mass texts, emails and calls experienced a security breach and has been taken offline.
Finalsite, the mass messaging software used by MSCS, has suspended its services out of an abundance of caution, a statement from MSCS Tuesday night, Oct. 7, said.
“We were reassured on multiple occasions that MSCS was not impacted by the data breach, but unfortunately, we were impacted by the interruption of its services,” the district’s statement read.
While MSCS waits for Finalsite to restore its services, it will continue sending out emails and “key reminders” through its alternate messaging system, Constant Contact.
This is not the first time the relationship between MSCS and Finalsite has made news. Following a series of threats against MSCS schools in 2024, former superintendent Marie Feagins blamed Finalsite for a lack of communication between schools and parents. A representative from Finalsite, however, responded to the claim, stating that thousands of parents were unreachable via the Finalsite software due to the school district’s inadequate record-keeping and maintenance.
This is also not the first data breach that has affected MSCS in recent years.
In December 2024, the company responsible for managing MSCS’s school records, PowerSchool, discovered that hackers had stolen the personal information of thousands of students and staff. The district continues to use PowerSchool, but is currently involved in litigation related to that breach.
The district’s statement on Tuesday, Oct. 7, said that parents’ questions regarding the Finalsite breach should be directed to their child’s principal.
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