{"id":210901,"date":"2026-05-07T23:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T03:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/updated-ongoing-cybersecurity-incident-puts-canvas-offline-ahead-of-finals-week\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T09:50:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T13:50:25","slug":"updated-ongoing-cybersecurity-incident-puts-canvas-offline-ahead-of-finals-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/updated-ongoing-cybersecurity-incident-puts-canvas-offline-ahead-of-finals-week\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATED: Ongoing cybersecurity incident puts Canvas offline ahead of finals week"},"content":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: Ongoing cybersecurity incident puts Canvas offline ahead of finals week<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/dailyillini.com\/news-stories\/university-news\/academics-news\/2026\/05\/07\/cybersecurity-incident-canvas-offline\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-07 23:10:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: dailyillini.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
\n UPDATE \u2014 Thursday, 9:40 p.m.
\nFinals and assignments due on Friday, Saturday and Sunday have been postponed due to the cyberattack, according to a Massmail sent Thursday night. It also said the pushback applies to all classes \u2014 regardless of Canvas use \u2014 for the sake of consistency.\u00a0
\nThe University emphasized that people should not click on the links at the bottom of the ShinyHunters\u2019 message on Canvas, as they can be a source of malware.\u00a0
\nUniversity leaders are meeting with the college deans and the Senate Executive Committee, and they will communicate more details before noon Sunday. When more information becomes available, it can be found here or on the University\u2019s Technology Services Canvas incident webpage.
\nInstructure has not yet shared information with the University about what specific data is involved in the breach, according to the University.\u00a0
\nPreviously, it said that certain data, including names, email addresses and student ID numbers, might have been leaked. However, Instructure stated that it has found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers or financial information were involved.\u00a0
\nUPDATE \u2014 Thursday, 7:34 p.m.
\nThe University\u2019s Canvas is offline because of an ongoing cybersecurity incident, and it is currently unknown when the system will come back online.\u00a0
\nSome students attempting to access Canvas saw a black screen with a message from ShinyHunters, a criminal extortion group, upon opening the website. The message displayed called for affected universities to negotiate a settlement with the group.
\n\u201cYou have till the end of the day by 12 May 2026 before everything is leaked,\u201d the message read.
\nAccording to Patrick Wade, director of executive communications and issues management for the University, the hackers\u2019 message also contained malicious links.
\nThe hackers\u2019 demand has since been replaced by a message from the University\u2019s Strategic Communications and Marketing team, which said the site is \u201coffline due to an ongoing cybersecurity incident\u201d and that they are \u201cawaiting information from Instructure.\u201d
\nIn response to the shutdown, the University sent a Massmail to explain the situation. It said it is waiting for Instructure \u2014 the parent company of Canvas \u2014\u00a0 to update when the website will come back online. The mobile app is also offline.
\n\u201cMembers of university leadership are discussing next steps, with sensitivity to the impacts on students and instructors during the final exam period,\u201d the Massmail read.
\nAt 3:41 p.m. CST, Instructure announced it is investigating the issue.
\nThe shutdown is ill-timed: The final exam period begins tomorrow, and some students said they are feeling stressed about the situation.
\nAnusha Dharia, sophomore in Engineering, said her Canvas stopped working around 3 p.m. on both her laptop and her phone. She said, with four finals left, a final paper due tomorrow and assignments due tonight, the situation is frustrating.
\n\u201cI feel like our professors aren\u2019t really giving us much guidance because they probably don\u2019t know what to do either,\u201d Dharia said. \u201c(I\u2019m) definitely feeling more stressed because I can\u2019t really access any of my materials needed to study.\u201d
\nShe reported that one professor offered to move an assignment\u2019s due date depending on when the issue is resolved, but that the shutdown is still interfering with her and her friends\u2019 studying plans.
\n\u201cYou don\u2019t know how to plan ahead and how much time you\u2019re really going to get to study because you\u2019re going to be waiting on trying to access Canvas,\u201d Dharia said.\u00a0
\nThe University is not the only one affected by the Canvas shutdown. The cybersecurity attack has allegedly affected nearly 9,000 other universities. ShinyHunters claimed it has the data of more than 275 million individuals, including students, teachers and other staff members.
\nThe University Senate Executive Committee is holding an emergency meeting tomorrow at 9 a.m. to discuss the situation.
\n\u00a0
\n[email\u00a0protected]
\n[email\u00a0protected]<\/p>\n

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