DMV universities recovering from Canvas web hack during finals week
The hacking group Shiny Hunters disrupted Canvas, an online education platform used by thousands of schools, including Georgetown University, the University of Maryland, and George Mason University, during finals week, causing exam delays and data access claims. Schools in the D.C. area reported partial outages, with some platforms restored by Friday morning after a ransom demand appeared on affected screens.
A cyberattack on Canvas, an online educational platform used by universities nationwide, disrupted final exams and assignments for students in the D.C. area this week. The hacking group Shiny Hunters claimed responsibility, stating they accessed billions of messages and student records, according to threat analyst Luke Connolly of Emisoft. Georgetown University students reported seeing a ransom message demanding payment to restore access, while the University of Maryland and George Mason University also experienced outages. George Mason University postponed final exams due to the disruption, though Canvas was later restored. Some professors adjusted deadlines as students struggled to access course materials. Georgetown University’s platform appeared functional again by Friday morning, with warnings removed from the university’s website. The attack impacted thousands of schools relying on Canvas, with Shiny Hunters listing affected institutions on their ransom note. Students initially doubted the severity of the breach but confirmed outages when academic functions like math assignments became inaccessible. The incident highlights vulnerabilities in educational technology systems during critical academic periods.
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