Students at numerous colleges and universities encountered interruptions to Canvas when the learning platform was targeted in a reported security incident, according to multiple campus newspapers.
Reports began to surface on Thursday afternoon that users could not log into Canvas. The Harvard Crimson said students were unable to access the site beginning on Thursday afternoon and that Canvas redirected users to a message attributed to the hacking collective ShinyHunters. That message reportedly included a claim of responsibility and a list of schools said to be impacted.
On its status page later that same day, Instructure - the company that operates Canvas - stated that Canvas and other associated sites had been placed "in maintenance mode." The company added it was "investigating an issue where some users are having difficulties logging into Student ePortfolios." Instructure said, "We anticipate being up soon, and will provide updates as soon as possible." The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Student publications at other institutions also reported disruption. The Daily Pennsylvanian, representing the University of Pennsylvania, said that a message posted on Penn's Canvas page by ShinyHunters had instructed any university that did not want its data released to contact the group before May 12. The Chronicle, Duke University's student newspaper, reported that Duke had been affected by what it characterized as a hack impacting over 9,000 schools.
Additional student newspapers, including those at UCLA and the University of Nebraska, reported that their campuses were among those affected by the incident.
ShinyHunters has been linked to previous large-scale compromises. The group said in April that it had obtained nearly 80 million business records from Rockstar Games, the developer behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise. That history was cited in campus reporting as context for concerns about the current incident.
At the time of reporting, educational institutions and students were still experiencing service interruptions and awaiting further updates from Instructure about the scope of the incident, the integrity of data, and timelines for restoring full access.
Clear summary
Canvas, a widely used education platform, experienced outages after a hacking group calling itself ShinyHunters posted claims and lists of allegedly affected schools. Instructure placed Canvas into maintenance mode and noted investigations into login problems related to Student ePortfolios. Multiple U.S. college newspapers reported the disruptions, and some student outlets say the group threatened to release data unless contacted by May 12.