Canvas hack: company pays criminals to delete students' stolen data
Summary
Canvas, a popular online learning platform, was hacked, affecting around 9,000 schools mainly in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK. The company that makes Canvas, Instructure, reached an agreement with the hackers, who deleted the stolen student data and promised not to demand money from students or schools.Key Facts
- The Canvas hack disrupted exams and caused service outages for thousands of universities and colleges.
- Hackers stole about 3.5 terabytes of student and university information.
- Instructure confirmed it reached a deal with the hackers to delete the stolen data.
- The hackers belong to a group called Shiny Hunters, known for demanding ransoms in bitcoin.
- Law enforcement advises against paying hackers because it can encourage more crimes and does not always guarantee data is deleted.
- Instructure said it got digital proof that the data was deleted and that no extortion would happen to customers.
- The breach was discovered on April 29 and became widely known after a ransom message appeared during exams.
- Some students, like those at Mississippi State University, had their exams paused or postponed due to the attack.
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