SAN ANTONIO – More than 8,000 colleges and universities across the nation, including several in the San Antonio area, are dealing with a cybersecurity breach on the digital classroom hub Canvas as finals loom.
Canvas is used to manage grades, course notes, assignments, lecture videos and more. It is developed and published by Salt Lake City-based Instructure Holdings.
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>> Cyberattack hits Canvas system used by thousands of schools as finals loom
Across the country, institutions reported a ransom note located on the homepage of their school’s Canvas sites, according to reporting by CNN.
According to the Associated Press, hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the attack, demanding ransom payment to prevent further data leaks.
These are the San Antonio-area and Texas universities affected by the breach so far:
University of Incarnate Word
University of Incarnate Word confirmed to students it was among thousands of institutions impacted by the breach, according to communication obtained by KSAT on Thursday.
“Deadlines for finals impacted by the outage are extended through Friday, May 15. Grade deadlines for faculty are extended through Tuesday, May 19,” a letter from the university to the Cardinal community states. “The Provost will communicate directly with deans, faculty and students regarding logistics surrounding updated exam and assignment schedules for impacted courses.”
The letter went on to say UIW commencement ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, May 9, will not be impacted.
The university urged students who are concerned about their academic record to contact the Office of the Registrar at 210-829-6006.
University of Texas at San Antonio
According to an online statement posted by the University of Texas at San Antonio, the Canvas login link has been temporarily disabled as Tech Solutions (UTS), Academic Innovation and Canvas vendor support teams work to resolve the situation.
“We understand that Canvas contains class notes, lectures, and other important information that you need to take your finals and complete your courses,” the statement reads. “To help minimize disruption to students during final exams, all assignments and exams that are due on or before Friday, May 8 on the academic campus will be rescheduled for a near future date.”
The university said it will continue providing updates as more information becomes available and encouraged anyone with questions to contact Academic Innovation or Tech Cafe by email or phone at 210-458-5555.
UTSA added that scheduled commencement ceremonies will go on as planned.
Alamo Colleges District
The Alamo Colleges District confirmed to KSAT that it is aware of the global cybersecurity incident.
“We immediately began working with Instructure to assess potential impact and protect our systems and users,” a portion of the district’s statement reads.
“The Alamo Colleges District remains committed to the security and privacy of our students and employees and will provide additional updates as more information becomes available.”
Texas State University
In an Instagram post, Texas State University said they are working to mitigate the impacts of the outage.
The university states Canvas is back online and exams and assessments will continue as scheduled.
Baylor University
In an online statement, Baylor University said Canvas is unavailable university-wide.
“Users should not attempt to engage with or respond within the Canvas system until further notice,” the university said online. “Our teams are actively monitoring the situation and working with the vendor toward resolution.“
The university said additional updates will be shared as more information becomes available and directed people to visit Baylor’s system status website for updates.
What we know about the breach
The hacking group named ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach at Canvas, Luke Connolly, a threat analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emisoft, told the Associated Press.
Canvas is used to manage grades, course notes, assignments, lecture videos and more. The hacking group posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected, with billions of private messages and other records accessed, Connolly said.
Students quickly took to social media to ask if others were unable to access Canvas, with many panicking that they could no longer view course materials housed within the platform to study for their final exams.
Screenshots Connolly provided showed that the group began threatening Sunday to leak the trove of data, giving deadlines of Thursday and May 12. Connolly said the later date indicates that discussions regarding extortion payments may be ongoing.
KSAT has reached out to Instructure and other universities in the area and will update this article as we learn more.
CNN Newsource’s Ramishah Maruf and Associated Press’ Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report.
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