Canvas, an education platform widely used in universities and schools worldwide, has faced major disruptions to student learning following a severe cyberattack.
The attack was carried out by ShinyHunters, a young hacker group based in the US and UK, which stole personal information including student names, emails, and student identification numbers.
As a result of the attack, students were unable to access their coursework and grades, with the entire system temporarily shut down.
Prominent international universities, including those in Singapore like SIM, were severely affected by this issue. Because hackers compromised student and teacher login pages, the Canvas system had to remain offline for an extended period due to security concerns.
However, on a positive note, there is no evidence that student passwords and banking information were compromised.
While facing these challenges, schools have implemented various solutions to ensure uninterrupted teaching. These include directly sending Zoom class links to students and extending deadlines for assignments and exams that were due during the platform outage.
Currently, the Canvas system is back online, but authorities including the FBI continue to investigate the hacker group.
Ref: Channel News Asia
