The Canvas system, utilized by approximately 9,000 schools globally, resumed operations on Friday following a cyberattack that disrupted studies for many students amid finals week. The breach was attributed to the hacking group ShinyHunters, which claimed to have accessed billions of private records, including messages and sensitive data, according to Luke Connolly, a threat analyst at Emisoft.
The outage on Thursday prompted widespread panic among students who relied on Canvas for accessing course materials. In response, some institutions, like the University of Texas at San Antonio, delayed final exams originally set for Friday. Meanwhile, schools such as Princeton University confirmed that the system was back online late Thursday, assuring students that technology staff were monitoring the situation.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, has not publicly commented on the attack or whether a ransom was paid. Previous incidents targeting educational institutions, like those at Minneapolis Public Schools and the Los Angeles Unified School District, highlight the ongoing risks faced by schools in the digital age. Connolly noted that this incident bears resemblance to a previous breach involving PowerSchool, further emphasizing the vulnerability of education management systems.