Canvas is back online according to its developer following a worldwide data breach of universities and schools, including OU’s learning management system.
Brian Watkins, Instructure senior communications director, wrote in a Friday morning email to OU Daily that Canvas is back online and available for use.
Canvas back online following worldwide hack
Watkins wrote that an authorized actor gained access to Canvas’ system through an issue related to its “Free-for-Teacher” account, which are account types from Instructure that allow educators to build courses without an institution-wide license.
“As a result, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily shut down our Free-For-Teacher accounts,” Watkins wrote. “This gives us the confidence to restore access to Canvas, which is now fully back online and available for use. We regret the inconvenience and concern this may have caused.”
A Friday morning update on OU IT’s alert page states that service has been restored to Canvas but “some components may still be degraded or not available.”
OU IT technicians are continuing to closely monitor the situation, the update states.
On Thursday afternoon, OU students attempting to access Canvas, the university’s learning management system, were met with a message from ShinyHunters, a criminal extortion group.
The hack came a week ahead of OU’s finals week.
The message threatened the release of student data and gave Canvas developer Instructure until the end of the day on Tuesday to respond.
On Wednesday, Norman Public Schools sent an email to families and staff confirming its Canvas system had been accessed by a third-party system.
Schools across the nation, including Harvard, Duke, MIT and Penn State, also reported data breaches.
This story was edited by Macey Thaxton.
