Cyberattack on Canvas Platform Threatens Data of Millions of Students Nationwide The University of Minnesota (U of M) and nearly 8,000 other schools across the U.S. have been impacted by a cyberattack targeting Canvas, an educational software platform used for assignments, exams, grades, and lecture materials. The breach, claimed by the hacking group ShinyHunters, threatens to release the personal data of up to 270 million users unless a ransom is paid by May 12. The attack disrupted access to Canvas on Thursday afternoon, prompting Instructure the parent company to temporarily shut down the platform. While officials state there is no evidence that passwords, Social Security numbers, or financial data were compromised, the hackers allege they breached the system a second time after Instructure applied security patches instead of engaging with their demands. Local school districts and universities, including U of M, have issued alerts to students and parents. U of M’s website confirmed the outage and noted that transcript ordering via Parchment another Instructure-owned service has been suspended as a precaution. The incident coincides with the end of the academic year, with final exams underway and graduations at U of M scheduled for next week. The full scope of the hackers’ demands remains undisclosed.