Global Universities Disrupted by Cyberattack on Canvas Learning Platform
Universities around the world scramble after cyberattack disrupts student portals
The Economic TimesImage: The Economic Times
A cyberattack on Canvas, an online learning platform used by over 8,000 educational institutions worldwide, disrupted access for universities in the United States, Australia, and Europe during final exams. The breach may have exposed student information, prompting warnings about potential cyber threats.
- 01The cyberattack affected major universities including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale during final exam season.
- 02Canvas, operated by Instructure Inc., is used by over 8,000 institutions globally.
- 03Student data, including names and email addresses, may have been compromised, but sensitive information like passwords was not accessed.
- 04The cybercrime group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility, threatening to leak data if their demands were not met.
- 05Universities are urging students to be vigilant against phishing attempts following the breach.
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Universities across the United States, Australia, and Europe faced significant disruptions following a cyberattack on Canvas, an online learning platform utilized by over 8,000 institutions globally. The outage occurred during a critical time as many students were preparing for final exams. Affected universities included prestigious institutions such as Harvard University, Stanford University, and Yale University. Instructure Inc., the company behind Canvas, confirmed that the platform was down for several hours but had restored access for most users by late Thursday. However, Canvas Beta and Canvas Test services remained under maintenance. The breach potentially exposed student information, including names, email addresses, and student ID numbers, although no sensitive data like passwords or financial information was reported as compromised. The cybercrime group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the attack, asserting they had accessed data from over 275 million individuals across nearly 9,000 schools. They threatened to leak this data by May 12 unless their demands were met. In response to the breach, universities have warned students to be cautious of phishing attempts and other cyber threats.
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The cyberattack has raised concerns about the security of student data, prompting universities to enhance their cybersecurity measures.
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