Cyberattack on Instructure Disrupts Canvas Access for Columbia Students
Columbia College students and faculty experienced a significant disruption when access to their Canvas accounts was lost for several hours due to a cyberattack on Instructure, the company behind the learning management system. The attack, claimed by the cybercriminal group ShinyHunters, occurred on May 7, just days before the end of the spring semester. The group, known for previous high-profile data breaches, threatened to release stolen data unless a settlement was reached by May 12. The attack compromised user identifiers such as names, email addresses, and student ID numbers, but did not include sensitive information like social security numbers or passwords. The outage, which lasted over four hours, added stress for students who were preparing for finals and trying to submit assignments. 
