International cyber attack disrupts thousands of universities and schools globally

A major cyber incident has disrupted academic systems across the world after the hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for an attack that forced the learning platform Canvas offline, affecting thousands of schools and universities globally.

The breach targeted the education software Canvas, used by an estimated 9,000 institutions, leading to widespread outages and academic disruptions during critical examination periods.

The platform’s parent company, Instructure, confirmed in a Thursday update that Canvas was “available for most users,” though several institutions continued to experience disruptions into Friday.

Ransom demand and hacker claim

The attack was attributed to ShinyHunters, who allegedly left ransom messages on affected systems demanding payment in cryptocurrency.

The message reportedly read: “Shiny Hunters has breached Instructure (again),” threatening to release stolen data unless ransom demands were met.

Students caught in exam chaos

At Mississippi State University, authorities postponed final exams after students were unable to access coursework or submit assignments.

A student, Aubrey Palmer, described the moment a ransom message appeared mid-exam, sparking confusion in the classroom.

“My knee-jerk reaction was that I’d been hacked myself… but then I realised it was Canvas that had been hacked,” Ms Palmer said, noting that students initially feared their work had been lost.

Global university disruptions

Multiple institutions across continents reported outages linked to the breach.

The University of Sydney told students that Canvas was unavailable and advised them not to log in, describing the situation as a “nationwide security incident.”

In Canada, the University of British Columbia confirmed the platform was down due to a cyber breach affecting Instructure.

The University of Toronto also reported system disruptions, noting that multiple universities had been affected.

In the United States, Penn State University cancelled several exams after warning that a full restoration of services would take time.

The cyberattack forced institutions such as the University of California Los Angeles and the University of Chicago to delay submissions, disable systems, or adjust academic schedules.

Education authorities said students were being advised to ignore suspicious messages while institutions worked to restore access and recover data.

The incident has raised renewed concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities in global education systems, particularly as universities increasingly rely on digital platforms for examinations and coursework.

Experts warn that attacks targeting learning infrastructure could have long-term consequences for academic integrity and institutional trust if not urgently addressed.