KSHB 41 News anchor Taylor Hemness reports on stories across Kansas, including a focus on consumer issues. You can contact Taylor by email. — Parents, students and teachers in the Kansas City area got a scare on Thursday afternoon, when Canvas, a program used by multiple local school districts and colleges, was apparently hacked, blocking people from using the system. Districts like Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission use Canvas for student assignments and grades, instructional materials, even communicating with parents and families. Its parent company, Instructure, says on its website that more than eight thousand schools and universities use it worldwide. On Thursday, a message from the hackers, a group called "ShinyHunters" appeared on the system, threatening to release information unless a ransom was paid. Friday morning, Instructure said that Canvas was fully operational again. KSHB 41 also received the following statement from Shawnee Mission School District: "We are watching this situation closely because safety and security for our students and staff is a high priority. Currently, we have no evidence that any information was breached. Out of an abundance of caution, we sent reminders to our staff and families that are always best cybersecurity practices. We will continue to monitor and stay in close contact with the vendor." I reached out to a local cybersecurity expert to talk about this, and ask what parents should do if they and their children used Canvas. "If that's a password you've used in other environments, you can have to kind of assume they have access to that now," Sam Sapp of Lockbaud said. "You kind of have to assume the worst, and if that was a password you used elsewhere, you'll want to have that reset." What's more frightening is that Sapp also told me that you might notice new spam or
May 8, 2026 · via kshb.com
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A spokesperson for the University of Michigan said access to Canvas has been restored across all campuses following a cybersecurity incident involving Instructure, the company that provides the online learning platform. University Information and Technology Services temporarily disabled Canvas access while officials investigated the issue, implemented security measures, and worked with the vendor to restore service. Recommended Videos It was reported on Friday (May 8) that students and faculty can now log back into the platform and resume normal activity, though some connected services and integrations may still be stabilizing, according to a message sent to the university community. University officials are warning users who may have entered their credentials into an unfamiliar Canvas login page during the incident to change their passwords immediately. Officials also advised anyone using the same password on other websites to update those accounts as well. The university urged students and staff to remain cautious of suspicious emails, login prompts, or phishing attempts related to Canvas or other university systems. Officials advised users not to click on unfamiliar links, open unexpected attachments, or share passwords or authentication codes. The incident prompted the university to disable Canvas access “out of an abundance of caution” after detecting what officials described as a security issue involving the platform. Canvas is widely used by students to access coursework, submit assignments, check grades, and communicate with instructors. University officials said technology teams continue to monitor systems and work with Instructure as recovery and security review efforts continue. The university has not said how many students or employees may have been affected or what types of information could have been exposed. Canvas is also used by several other Michigan universities, including Wayne State University and Eastern Michigan University.
May 8, 2026 · via clickondetroit.com
by Office of Information Technology May 7, 2026 Share Portland State University was notified of a cybersecurity incident involving Instructure, the company that provides our Canvas online learning management system. PSU is one of many institutions nationwide that were potentially impacted. The Instructure Incident Report indicates that potentially exposed information consists of certain user data such as names, email addresses, student ID numbers and messages among users. OIT is monitoring the situation very closely and will share additional, relevant information with the PSU community as it becomes available. Here are a few important facts we want to share: - There is no indication that passwords, dates of birth, government identification numbers or financial information were compromised. - No Portland State University systems were compromised. This incident was entirely isolated to Instructure’s own corporate systems. - According to Instructure, they quickly detected the unauthorized access and eliminated the attacker from their network. - Canvas and all other PSU systems remain fully functional and are safe to continue using. While no action is required from PSU faculty, staff, or students regarding the Instructure incident at this time, please be aware that attackers may use compromised data from this incident to target you with phishing emails in the future. OIT strongly recommends remaining vigilant through practices such as always verifying the source of an email before responding or following links, using complex and unique passwords on all of your accounts and using two-factor authentication. Thank you for your patience as we wait for further updates from Instructure, the parent company of Canvas.
May 8, 2026 · via pdx.edu
Mass. schools hit by nationwide Canvas cybersecurity incident during final exams The learning management system Canvas suffered a nationwide outage Thursday, causing a disruption on school campuses across the country. According to several Massachusetts schools, the platform was affected by a cybersecurity incident, which rendered the site useless for users. The hacking group named ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the breach at Instructure, the company behind Canvas, said Luke Connolly, a threat analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emisoft. Instructure didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment or questions about whether the system was taken down as a precaution or because the hackers knocked it offline. Screenshots he provided showed that the group began threatening on Sunday to leak a trove of data, giving deadlines of Thursday and May 12. Connolly said the later date indicates that discussions regarding extortion payments may be ongoing. UMass Lowell announced that Friday's scheduled final exams would be delayed until Monday due to the outage. Northeastern University also addressed the outage, confirming on its website "that Instructure, the company that provides Canvas, is responding to a major cybersecurity incident affecting its platform across the education sector." Northeastern students and faculty were advised to refrain from using the platform until the issue was resolved. The student newspaper at Harvard reported that the system was down there, too. And public school districts also sought to reassure parents, with officials in Spokane, Washington, writing that they aren't “aware of any sensitive data contained in this breach.” Connolly described ShinyHunters as a loose affiliation of teenagers and young adults based in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The group also has been tied to a other attacks, including one aimed at Live Nation’s Ticketmaster subsidiary. Instructure didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment or questions about whether the
May 8, 2026 · via wcvb.com
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May 8, 2026 · via youtube.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A cybersecurity incident with the Canvas learning platform vendor may have caused some users to see an unauthorized message after logging in. Knox County Schools said its technology department is working with Instructure, the Canvas vendor, and has already deleted the message. KCS said it wasn't the only school district affected. "We're probably in the same position waiting as a lot of institutions of higher ed and other school systems are waiting at this point," Jon Rysewyk, KCS Superintendent, said. "We've done everything we can on our end to be as secure as possible, so now we just kind of wait and see what our vendor will do." Instructure, the company that runs the Canvas learning management system used by more than 7,000 universities, K-12 districts and education ministries worldwide, disclosed the breach to affected institutions this week. The company confirmed names, email addresses, student ID numbers and private messages between users had been accessed before the breach was contained. The criminal extortion group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the attack. On a dark web leak site, the group alleged it had stolen more than 3.65 terabytes of data and threatened to release it unless its demands were met. The group said it stole roughly 275 million records tied to students, teachers and staff, and shared a list of 8,809 school districts, universities and online education platforms it claims were affected. The University of Tennessee said in a statement they do not know when Canvas services will be restored, but Instructure posted a status page to share updates on the outage. The University of Tennessee sent out the following statement. Related to this incident, Instructure has notified the Office of Innovative Technologies (OIT) of a data breach associated with some accounts. Based on what Instructure has found to
May 8, 2026 · via wbir.com
[IOWA CITY, Iowa] — A cybersecurity issue is affecting a system used by students and staff at the University of Iowa.
The issue is affecting several universities across the country. The University of Iowa says the Canvas portal is unavailable right now.
The platform is used by schools for course management, assignments and grading, and communication between students and teachers.
The outage comes as the semester nears its end. This is the last week of classes before final exams next week.
University officials say the IT team is monitoring the situation and working with the vendor to restore service. Canvas is also out at Iowa State University.
The University of Northern Iowa does not use Canvas for instruction delivery.
May 8, 2026 · via kwwl.com
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May 8, 2026 · via youtube.com
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May 8, 2026 · via youtube.com
Canvas offline at Baylor University after broader cybersecurity breach Breach claims surfaced nationwide as many schools were preparing for final exams WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Canvas is offline at Baylor University after the learning management system was taken down in response to a broader cybersecurity incident that has drawn reports of ransomware-related messages appearing at multiple schools across the U.S. Baylor Information Technology Services said Thursday evening that Canvas is “currently unavailable university-wide,” calling it a nationwide issue impacting institutions across the country. Thursday was study day at Baylor and final exams were due or scheduled for Friday. BaylorITS urged users not to attempt to access or respond within Canvas “until further notice” while Baylor teams monitor the situation and work with the vendor toward a resolution. Earlier Thursday, BaylorITS reported that several universities using Canvas said their access was blocked by a ransom notice, prompting BaylorITS to take Canvas offline. The disruption follows a cybersecurity incident Instructure disclosed May 1. In a May 2 update, Instructure Chief Information Security Officer Steve Proud said the information tied to the attack included names, student ID numbers, messages between users and email addresses, but that the company had found no evidence at the time that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers or financial information were involved. The breach claims surfaced on Thursday as many schools were preparing for final exams. Rutgers University reported May 7 it was aware of an unauthorized message posted to Canvas about the incident. The Daily Pennsylvanian also reported that Penn State’s Canvas site was hacked and displayed a warning attributed to the cybercriminal group ShinyHunters, with similar messages reported by users at other institutions, including the University of California, Davis. The full scope of the breach was not immediately known. In an earlier BaylorITS notice posted Wednesday,
May 8, 2026 · via kwtx.com
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — Students across the country are being impacted by a security breach involving a popular online platform used as a digital hub for many classes. The platform, called Canvas, is used at schools throughout the Tri-State to track grades, assignments and more. According to Canvas's parent company, Instructure, the platform has more than 30 million active users. And with finals season in full swing, Greater Cincinnati area students are no exception. Officials at Northern Kentucky University confirmed the school is aware of the "cybersecurity incident" Thursday. "NKU is not alone in being impacted and has been working closely with the vendor to monitor the situation and protect university systems," a statement from NKU said. The university said it had already implemented the recommended security precautions prior to the incident. "At this time, NKU continues to actively monitor the situation and is in regular communication with Canvas as they work to fully resolve the issue," the statement said. NKU encouraged its students, faculty and staff to "remain vigilant," reminding the community that the university will never request usernames or passwords via email, phone or text, and any "unexpected" multi-factor authentication prompts should not be approved. University of Cincinnati officials also responded with a statement Thursday. "Canvas is currently inaccessible to campus users due to a nationwide cybersecurity incident involving Instructure, the third-party vendor behind the Canvas online learning management system," UC said in a statement. "We are seeking an estimate from Instructure on when Canvas will again be operational. Both while the system is down and even when system functionality returns, please do not respond to any unsolicited emails or messages appearing to come from Canvas or the university, particularly any requesting login credentials or personal information." Instructure said on their website Thursday that they are investigating the
May 8, 2026 · via wcpo.com
SAN ANTONIO – More than 8,000 colleges and universities across the nation are dealing with a cybersecurity breach on the digital classroom hub Canvas, according to multiple reports. University of Incarnate Word confirmed to students it was among thousands of institutions impacted by the breach, according to communication obtained by KSAT. The University of Texas at San Antonio and Alamo Colleges District confirmed it was impacted in statements. Recommended Videos Canvas is used to manage grades, course notes, assignments, lecture videos and more. Across the country, institutions reported a ransom note located on the homepage of their school’s Canvas sites, according to reporting by CNN. Hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the attack in the note shared with KSAT and reported by several student news outlets, demanding ransom payment to prevent further data leaks. Instructure, the company behind the software, said Canvas was “in maintenance mode” late Thursday afternoon, adding that it was investigating the issue. UT San Antonio said it is rescheduling assignments and exams due on or before Friday, while UIW said it has extended deadlines for finals impacted and grade submission. Instructure reportedly told UIW it has no timeline for resolution on the issue. UTSA and UIW added that commencement ceremonies scheduled for Saturday will go on as planned. KSAT has reached out to Instructure and other universities in the area and will update this article as we learn more. CNN Newsource’s Ramishah Maruf and Associated Press’ Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report. Read also:
May 8, 2026 · via ksat.com
Cybersecurity breach impacting University of Minnesota, colleges across the country A cybersecurity breach is affecting universities across the country, including the University of Minnesota and the University of Wisconsin. Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, which students at the U of M use for online learning and to submit assignments, is unavailable as of Thursday evening. An image that appears to be a message from a hacking group known as “Shinyhunters” is circulating online, in which the group takes responsibility for the hack and states that affected schools should “consult with a cyber advisory firm and contact us privately… to negotiate a settlement.” A spokesperson for the University of Minnesota issued the following statement, confirming the breach: “The University of Minnesota was notified by Instructure, a software and technology supplier of the University, of a cybersecurity incident affecting its clients worldwide. As of today, users are unable to access Instructure’s Canvas system, which is a cloud- and web-based learning management system for online courses, learning materials and communications. University administrators are awaiting updates from the vendor and taking additional measures to protect University information.” A spokesperson for the University of Wisconsin confirmed the school was also a part of the hack, saying, “At around 3 p.m. today, UW–Madison became aware we are part of a nationwide Canvas outage. We recognize this is occurring at a very challenging time during final exams and grading, and we’re committed to providing you with support and flexibility as we navigate this significant disruption. Multiple teams are working to address this issue.” The University of Wisconsin went on to tell students not to interact with any direction from Canvas this time, such as prompts to log on, click a link or reset your password. “Rather than target one institution, one victim, they can get many
May 8, 2026 · via kstp.com
Cybersecurity incident impacts UCCS, CSU, universities worldwide COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Both local universities and colleges around the world are working to address a breach by a cybercriminal group, which claimed it had hacked learning management system Canvas. Currently, the system is unavailable, but earlier today it temporarily displayed a message describing a security breach. Canvas is a tool used by millions of students to access grades and class materials. The attack could risk the personal information of students, teachers, and university staff. This is the second breach this month, with hacking group ShinyHunters claiming responsibility. For the prior hack, the company’s Chief Information Security Officer said the information included names, student ID numbers, messages between users, and email addresses. “At this time, we have found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were involved. If that changes, we will notify any impacted institutions,” he continued. As of 5:37, parent company Instructure had placed the Canvas platform in maintenance mode. The company said it anticipated the platform would be back up soon and said it would provide updates soon. The issues come as students are trying to end the semester. CU Boulder has disabled access to the platform it uses to generate official transcripts because of its connection to Canvas. A message on the UCCS homepage reads “OIT is aware that Canvas is unavailable and the webpage temporarily displayed a message regarding a security breach of Canvas and is now displaying a maintenance message. OIT is working with the vendor to investigate and resolve the issue. This incident is impacting Canvas instances worldwide.” 11 News has reached out to UCCS and Instructure for comment. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Copyright 2026 KKTV. All rights reserved.
May 8, 2026 · via kktv.com
Scaling Trusted Access for Cyber with GPT‑5.5 and GPT‑5.5‑Cyber How our latest models help each layer of the defensive ecosystem and accelerate the security flywheel. For years we’ve been chronicling our work to accelerate cybersecurity defenders, as part of our broader work to build the core infrastructure for AI. Last week, we released our action plan Cybersecurity in the Intelligence Age, which lays out our vision for democratizing AI-powered defense. Two weeks ago, we released GPT‑5.5, our smartest and most intuitive model to date, which is already delivering powerful cybersecurity capabilities to developers and security teams through Trusted Access for Cyber (TAC). Today, we are rolling out GPT‑5.5‑Cyber in limited preview to defenders responsible for securing critical infrastructure to support specialized cybersecurity workflows that help protect the broader ecosystem. We are focused on providing proportional safeguards and access to empower cyber defenders to protect society, and our approach has been informed by conversations with cybersecurity and national security leaders across federal and state government and major commercial entities. The cyber defense ecosystem is broad, and GPT‑5.5 and GPT‑5.5‑Cyber play different roles in meeting the needs of organizations and researchers across it, depending on the task, the setting, and the safeguards around how the model is used. For most teams, GPT‑5.5 with TAC is our strongest broadly useful model for legitimate defensive work, with strong safeguards against misuse. In this post, we are sharing more details on how Trusted Access for Cyber works, how GPT‑5.5 and GPT‑5.5‑Cyber meet the varied needs of defenders across the ecosystem, and how different levels of access affect model outputs. Trusted Access for Cyber is an identity and trust-based framework designed to help ensure enhanced cyber capabilities are being placed in the right hands. It is designed to make the cyber capabilities of GPT‑5.5 more useful
May 8, 2026 · via openai.com
INDIANAPOLIS — Several Indiana schools were impacted Thursday by a breach of the nation's most widely used classroom software. Instructure, the company that runs the Canvas learning management system used by more than 7,000 universities, K-12 districts and education ministries worldwide, disclosed the breach to affected institutions this week. The company confirmed names, email addresses, student ID numbers and private messages between users had been accessed before the breach was contained. Students at Indiana University and Ivy Tech Community College told 13News the schools were impacted by the breach. Ivy Tech sent a message letting students and staff know it "was not a breach of Ivy Tech's internal systems or networks," but that the school was affected. Instructure stated that the affected data might have included full names, email addresses, student ID numbers and messages, but that there is no evidence passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers or financial information were exposed. IU administrators advised students and faculty to avoid logging into Canvas with their university credentials out of an abundance of caution. MSD Washington Township, which also uses the Canvas platform in its schools, said the district's technology department is monitoring updates from Instructure, in an attempt to learn more about the potential impact on the district. A spokesperson for Purdue University shared the following statement with 13News Thursday evening. "After an initial assessment, the nationwide Canvas cyberattack appears to have minimal impact on Purdue University and Purdue Global, as Canvas is not our main learning management system. We are still working on a review to ensure we properly identify any potential points of exposure." The criminal extortion group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging it had stolen more than 3.65 terabytes of data, including around 275 million records tied to students, teachers and staff, and shared a
May 7, 2026 · via wthr.com
UNR President Brian Sandoval is warning the university community about a cybersecurity incident involving the company associated with Canvas.
Sandoval says the company, named Instructure informed the Nevada System of Higher Education about the data breach but stresses “it is not yet confirmed whether data from the University of Nevada was affected.”
He says a forensic investigation is ongoing but warns that possible compromised data may include names, email addresses, student ID numbers and private Canvas messages. “Instructure reports no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were compromised, and states the incident has been contained.”
While the investigation continues, Sandoval urges the university community to be alert for unwanted emails or messages purportedly from Canvas.
May 7, 2026 · via 2news.com
A $1 million grant from Google will soon enable LSU’s Cybersecurity Clinic to expand its free education and evaluation services to industry and government clients across Louisiana, the university announced. The funding, LSU’s first from the organization, will support efforts to protect critical infrastructure statewide, including water treatment facilities, oil wells and chemical plants. “Navigating the recent increase in disruptive cyberattacks on essential services—from local power grids to hospitals—will rely on a strong cyber workforce capable of defending against everyday threats,” said Maab Ibrahim, head of knowledge, skills and learning for the Americas at Google.org, in a statement. “Cyber clinics are a crucial part of this effort. They give students the hands-on experience they need to start careers, while at the same time providing vital, no-cost security services to local organizations that need them most.” The LSU Cybersecurity Clinic was founded in 2023 by Aisha Ali-Gombe, an associate professor in the department of computer science and engineering and a researcher at the LSU Center for Computation & Technology. Ali-Gombe serves as the clinic’s director, supported by three staff members. The clinic trains LSU engineering and business students in cybersecurity and helps them earn industry certifications. Students then deliver free educational seminars and industry-standard security assessments to small businesses across Louisiana. With support from Google.org, the clinic is expanding its reach and programming. Beginning this fall, services will extend to critical infrastructure sectors, starting with public and private water treatment facilities, followed by chemical, petroleum, agriculture, shipping and logistics operations. The clinic will continue serving small businesses alongside these efforts. The funding also allows the program to open participation to students across all majors at LSU and increase training capacity. Over the six-year grant period, the clinic is expected to serve 213 students, a 17% increase. Participants gain experience securing IT
May 7, 2026 · via 1012industryreport.com
CNA Explains: What is frontier AI and how Anthropic's Mythos is reshaping cybersecurity Anthropic’s Mythos AI model has demonstrated advanced capabilities in coding and system analysis, raising fears over how such tools could be misused. The debut of advanced artificial intelligence models such as Anthropic’s Claude Mythos is sharpening global concerns over a new class of technology known as frontier AI - and the security risks it could pose. These systems, the most advanced AI models available today, can reason through complex problems and detect vulnerabilities at a speed and scale far beyond human capability. While that could strengthen cybersecurity, it also introduces new threats. Mythos in particular has drawn attention for its capabilities in coding and system analysis, fuelling fears that such tools could be misused by cybercriminals to exploit weaknesses in critical systems. As a result, regulators and policymakers are reassessing whether existing safeguards are sufficient. Here’s what to know about frontier AI - and how it is changing the risk landscape. What is Frontier AI? Frontier AI refers to the most capable and cutting-edge AI systems available today. Think of it as J.A.R.V.I.S from Iron Man – an assistant that can hold a conversation, reason through problems and act on a user's behalf, said Zscaler's Santanu Dutt, the cybersecurity firm's vice president of solutions consulting and head of technology of Asia Pacific and Japan. What was once fictional is now widely available to anyone with an internet connection, he noted. These models are particularly powerful in areas such as cybersecurity and software analysis. They can scan vast amounts of code, identify weaknesses and even suggest ways to exploit or fix them - in hours rather than months. But this becomes a double-edged sword. While organisations can use frontier AI to fix bugs quickly, cybercriminals can also misuse
May 6, 2026 · via channelnewsasia.com
As reported by Statescoop, a new guidebook suggests that state officials seeking funding for cybersecurity initiatives should emphasize the financial returns on investment rather than solely focusing on the risks of cyberattacks. The publication, compiled by Grace Menna, a senior fellow at UC Berkeley’s Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity, analyzes various state-led and community-led cybersecurity efforts.The guidebook reveals that cybersecurity programs can be sound financial investments. Regional security operations centers generate between $1.1 million and $2.6 million annually, cyber clinics up to $150,000 annually, and state cyber corps between $1.4 million and $7.5 million each year. Menna aims to provide legislators with concrete financial data to shift the conversation from risk to economic benefit. This approach is particularly relevant as state CIOs report declining confidence in protecting data against AI-enhanced attacks amid budget constraints. One state cyber corps reported a 747% return on investment, demonstrating significant value.The report also examines various organizational models like the Texas Cyber Command and New Jersey's Cybersecurity and Communication Integration Cell, highlighting their unique contributions and the need for a coordinated approach. Menna emphasizes that these programs offer services at more affordable rates than managed security service providers and are crucial for diversifying state cybersecurity capabilities, comparing them to essential components of emergency response.Statescoop Source: Security Operations, Critical Infrastructure Security, Security Strategy, Plan, Budget, Government security Guidebook highlights financial benefits of state cybersecurity programs (Adobe Stock) Related Events Get daily email updates SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news You can skip this ad in 5 seconds
May 6, 2026 · via scworld.com