Michigan schools among those affected by Canvas cybersecurity incident
A learning management system used by schools and universities across the country, including in Metro Detroit, was hit with a cyberattack starting Thursday.
The company said Friday that the problem has been mostly resolved.
Canvas is a popular online academic system for classroom tasks such as homework assignments, announcements and exams. Students log in to access the documents and postings by their instructors.
CBS News says the hacking group named ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach at Instructure, the company behind the learning management system Canvas, said Luke Connolly, a threat analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emisoft.
Thousands of schools and universities use the system – including Highpoint Virtual Academy of Michigan and Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy.
The University of Michigan's technology department said all of its campuses are among those affected.
"Campus notifications have been sent to Canvas users across the university, and user access to Canvas has been temporarily removed while the issue is investigated," the University of Michigan said after the system was affected.
Wayne State University in Detroit said it was also affected. While the spring/summer semester started Friday as scheduled, students were asked to monitor their emails for updates from instructors. Online classes will take place via Microsoft Teams and Zoom.