A global cyberattack affects numerous universities and schools worldwide after a hacking group breached the academic software Canvas, used by thousands of educational institutions. The attack caused widespread disruptions during the critical end-of-year academic period.
Details of the Global Cyberattack Affects Universities and Schools
The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the cyberattack that targeted Canvas, an academic platform owned by Instructure. The breach caused Canvas to go offline for many users across the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries. By late Thursday, Instructure reported that Canvas was “available for most users,” but some universities continued to experience outages into Friday.
The attack impacted an estimated 9,000 institutions globally. Several universities announced exam postponements and cancellations due to the inability to access Canvas. For example, Mississippi State University postponed Friday’s final exams to allow students to recover lost work. Idaho State University cancelled exams scheduled after noon local time, and Penn State University cancelled some exams on Thursday and Friday, citing no access to Canvas and no expected resolution within 24 hours.
Impact on Students and Universities
Students reported receiving ransom notes on their screens during exams. Aubrey Palmer, a meteorology student at Mississippi State University, described how a ransom message appeared after she completed a lengthy exam essay. The note threatened to release stolen data unless a ransom was paid in bitcoin. Similar messages were reported at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, where the Canvas page was temporarily disabled.
Universities responded by advising students to ignore suspicious messages, rescheduling exams, and providing updates via email. The University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto also confirmed they were affected by the breach and warned students to log out of Canvas immediately.
Background and Response
ShinyHunters has been linked to previous high-profile cyberattacks, including one on Jaguar Land Rover. The group issued deadlines for ransom payments and threatened to release stolen data. Cybersecurity experts indicated that extortion discussions might be ongoing, but the hackers have not disclosed their plans for the stolen data.
The attack coincided with calls from US Senate leaders for increased cybersecurity measures amid rising cyber risks. Senator Chuck Schumer urged the Department of Homeland Security to enhance support for states and localities to prevent outages and attacks that could threaten lives and livelihoods.