Canvas is “now available for most users” after hackers infiltrated the system, disrupting coursework and exams amid spring finals week for many universities and colleges across the U.S. and in Michigan on Thursday, May 7.
Instructure, the dashboard’s parent company posted a message on its website on Thursday, May 7, saying some users were having difficulty accessing their portfolio.
Issues reported by users on DownDetector peaked about 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
As of 7:16 a.m. Friday, May 8, only 347 users have reported issues with the Canvas. Just after 9 p.m. ET, the company said the software was available for most users.
The University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Eastern Michigan University alerted students that a security incident had taken place on May 7 and encouraged students to monitor communication channels for updates. U-M said all three campuses were affected.
“This is an active and fluid situation. We recognize the disruption this may cause, particularly during a busy time of year, and we are working as quickly and carefully as possible to restore access when it is safe to do so,” U-M said in a website message.
Colleges and universities across the United States were also impacted including Harvard University, Pennsylvania State University and the University of North Carolina, among others.
“If you are currently logged into Canvas, please log out immediately. If you entered your credentials into a suspicious or unfamiliar Canvas login page today, we strongly recommend changing your password immediately,” UM’s Information & Technology Services said in a post on X.
Earlier on Thursday, the company said Canvas and other related sites had been placed “in maintenance mode” and that it was “investigating an issue where some users are having difficulties logging into Student ePortfolios.”
The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the data breach, according to media reports from The New York Times and CNN.
Canvas has more than 30 million active users worldwide and over 8,000 institutions as customers.
It is not yet clear if personal information was obtained by hackers.
What is Canvas?
Canvas is a “learning management system” developed by Instructure to make “teaching, learning, implementation, adoption, customer support and student success easier. Reliable, customizable, mobile, time-saving, designed to get out of your way, to let you do your thing.”
USA Today contributed reporting.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Canvas hack disrupts student finals across Michigan and U.S.
Reporting by Jalen Williams, USA TODAY NETWORK / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
