(WXYZ) — A cyberattack on Canvas, the widely used online learning platform, is disrupting classrooms across the country — including schools in Michigan, ranging from kindergarten students to graduate students at Wayne State University.
Watch Brett Kast's video report:
Canvas, made by parent company Instructure, serves as a central hub for coursework, grades, assignments, and communication for thousands of universities, colleges, and K-12 schools nationwide.
Instructure says the hack began on April 29. The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility, and data, including names, emails, student ID numbers, and personal messages were stolen. Instructure says the incident is now contained.
For families like Samantha Toler of Melvindale, Canvas is the backbone of her daughter's school day. Her daughter is enrolled at Highpoint Virtual Academy of Michigan, where a corner of their kitchen doubles as a kindergarten classroom.
"We log in, we get into Canvas, our schedule is in there, everything is in there," Toler said.
Toler said Canvas is used for everything from homework to live classes.
“Here we are, almost the end of the year. We have testing, end-of-the-year celebrations, graduations. Of course, it’s all done over the system,” Toler said.
On the night of Thursday, May 7, Toler said a ransom note from ShinyHunters appeared on her daughter's computer, warning that private information would be leaked if a settlement wasn't reached.
"The kids see that stuff first, and of course, then comes trying to explain it in a way that kids understand. They're like, 'What's going on, a hacker?'" Toler said.
Toler said the school instructed families to immediately log out and shut down their computers. The school posted online that classes would be canceled for the day, as thousands of schools across the country — ranging from K-12 to Ivy League universities — scrambled to get answers.
Scott Bailey, a cybersecurity expert and managing partner at N1 Discovery in Troy, said the volume of data the hackers claim to have (over 6 terabytes) suggests they had been inside the Canvas system for an extended period.
Extended interview: Cybersecurity expert weighs in on ransomware attack
"The things that make this unique is the scale. It's big, it's a lot of data," Bailey said.
He also said another part that makes it unique is that it's a "hybrid extortion" where the hackers are demanding a ransom from the company as well as from the individual schools.
Related Story: Cyberattack on Canvas disrupts finals for thousands of students worldwide
"They're going after the schools directly, saying 'you need to negotiate with us, reach out to us privately.' So they're trying to get money from both sides,” said Bailey.
Bailey warned that even though the platform is back up and running, the type of data that was stolen leaves students more vulnerable to phishing attacks.
"This may not be the bad part. The bad part may be coming when this is used to cause more damage," Bailey said. “Very sophisticated phishing scams can now be perpetrated against these kids, and a lot of them aren't trained and may fall for them.”
At Wayne State University, students said Canvas is central to their academic lives.
"You can contact the professor with it, you can check your syllabus, your calendar, you access all of your homework,” master's student Youna Yasser said. "It's pretty much used for everything."
"All your classes are on Canvas. That's where all your grades are, that's where all your assignments are submitted to. So I mean, there's a lot of personal information on there," said student Quinn Aho. "To have a huge breach like that, that's definitely concerning. "
Toler said her family shares those concerns — and is worried about what comes next.
"We're really concerned obviously, with what data is going to be breached, who are they going to give the data to," Toler said. "What's going to come next, are we able to finish the year? All that."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
