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Cyberattack hits Canvas system
Canvas, a school learning platform, has reportedly been hacked and is experiencing outages. I
MILWAUKEE - Canvas, a school learning platform, has reportedly been hacked and is experiencing outages. It's causing problems for thousands of universities nationwide, including UW-Milwaukee and UW-Madison.
Canvas cyberattack
What we know:
According to DownDetector, Canvas by Instructure is a learning management system (LMS) that supports online course organization, assignments, grading, video conferencing, and a range of educational tools for schools and universities.
DownDetector said users began reporting issues with Canvas on Thursday afternoon.
The hacking group named ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach at Canvas. The hacking group posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected.
Universities and school districts quickly began notifying students and parents.
UW-Milwaukee on security breach
What they're saying:
"Users are currently unable to log in to the Canvas learning management system because of a nationwide security breach.
If you are already in Canvas and it prompts you to perform any action — such as clicking a link, logging in, resetting your password, or completing any tasks — do not proceed. These prompts may not be legitimate while the system is down.
Instructors have been asked to postpone assignments due on Thursday, May 7, while this issue is addressed.
Microsoft 365 logins are not affected by this situation.
Information Security teams and legal counsel at all levels of the Universities of Wisconsin are engaged.
The breach, first reported May 1, affects the cloud-based system operated by Instructure, and affects UWM and all other Universities of Wisconsin (UWs) campuses.
UWM’s information security team, along with UWs, will continue to actively monitor the situation. UWM does not collect dates of birth, government identifiers or financial information in Canvas."
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UW-Madison campus alert
What they're saying:
"At around 3 p.m. (Thursday), UW–Madison became aware we are part of a nationwide Canvas outage. We recognize this is occurring at a very challenging time during final exams and grading, and we’re committed to providing you with support and flexibility as we navigate this significant disruption. Multiple teams are working to address this issue.
IMPORTANT: If Canvas prompts you to perform any action — such as clicking a link, logging in, resetting your password, or completing any tasks — do not proceed. These prompts may not be legitimate.
If you have an upcoming final exam or any outstanding assignments that require Canvas access, please watch for communication from your instructor and reach out if you need clarification.
We will share additional information about final exams and grading as we learn more. See the Campus Alerts page for ongoing updates."
Canvas reportedly hacked by ShinyHunters, claiming data breach
Canvas, a widely used learning management system by Instructure, experienced outages Thursday afternoon.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by the Associated Press, DownDetector, and official statements posted by UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee.