Central Georgia school systems issue statements after Canvas cybersecurity hack

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Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. Canvas, a system used by several schools in the Central Georgia area, was hacked. Now, Central Georgia schools systems are sharing what they know.

MACON, Ga. — Schools across the country received an alarming interruption, as a system thousands of them use went offline on Thursday.

Canvas, described as a web-based learning management system, was hacked, the service announced on Thursday. The site is often used by teachers and educators to post assignments and use as a teaching tool. It can also store grades.

According to CBS News, 9,000 schools and universities use the program. A hacking group named ShinyHunters took credit for a breach at Instructure, the company behind Canvas.

The program was down until Friday, which CBS News said directly impacted students’ abilities to study for final exams and other tests set to take place on Friday.

Some Central Georgia school systems use Canvas, including both the Houston County and Bibb County School Systems. The pair issued statements.

Houston County noted that, thankfully, the data hackers obtained from Canvas didn’t contain any personal information. Instructure told the school system that student passwords, date of birth, social security numbers, and financial information were not leaked.

They did say that names, school email addresses, classroom assignments and any internal messages may have been leaked.

“This incident involves the third-party Canvas platform and not the internal technology infrastructure of the Houston County School District,” they said in a statement.

They said they’ll continue to provide further updates as they receive it.

“Our district will continue working closely with Instructure while monitoring updates and coordinating appropriate response efforts,” they said in a statement. “We understand that this situation may be concerning and appreciate your patience as we work through it. Our team is closely monitoring updates from the vendor and will continue to keep you informed as we learn more.”

The Bibb County School District said that they are monitoring the situation, but said that Canvas is no longer down. They did say families shouldn’t click on any unknown links.

Both school districts said that people can see updates from Instructure at this link here. They both added they’ll continue to stay in contact with Instructure and will provide further information as they have it.