Major data breach impacts schools across US

(NEXSTAR) — Students and staff of schools across the U.S. are reeling after learning that a well-known hacking group breached private information in the database of Instructure, which powers education technology systems like Canvas.

The breach poses security risk to dozens of colleges and universities, as ShinyHunters, the gang taking credit for the incident, has reportedly sent extortionary messages to Canvas users. Canvas is used by schools nationwide for assignments and grade tracking.

TechCrunch reported on the news on Tuesday, after a member of the group shared a sample of the data they’d allegedly accessed.

A message sent to users, including a member of Nexstar’s WFRV in Green Bay, reads: “ShinyHunters: rooting your systems since ’19 😉 ShinyHunters have breach Instructure (again). Instead of contacting us to resolve it they ignored us and did some “security patches.” WARNING: If any of the schools affected in the list are interested in preventing the release of their data, please consult........

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