A system used in thousands of American schools and universities was suspended yesterday, Thursday, following a cyber attack that occurred at a sensitive time as students prepared for final exams.
Luke Connolly, a threat analyst at the cybersecurity company “Emisoft,” explained that a hacking group known as “Shiney Hunters” claimed responsibility for targeting “Instructor,” the developer of the “Canvas” learning management platform.
The company did not issue any immediate comment or clarification about whether the system shutdown was the result of a direct attack or as a precautionary measure after the hack.
According to Connolly, the attacking group posted online that about 9,000 educational institutions around the world were affected by the attack, with claims of access to billions of private messages and other records.
On the other hand, “Instructor” did not publish any information about the incident on its official accounts, while the “Canvas” system is widely used to manage grades and assignments, course content, and educational videos.
At the same time, universities and educational districts rushed to inform students and parents of what happened and take emergency measures to ensure the continuity of the educational process.
