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Instructure Says Hackers Returned Canvas Data After Deal

Congressional scrutiny follows a deal that returned data without independent proof of deletion.

Overview

  • Instructure, which said Wednesday it reached a deal with the ShinyHunters group, reported the stolen files were returned with digital “shred logs” but declined to say if it paid.
  • The breach exposed about 3.65 terabytes tied to roughly 8,800–9,000 schools and universities, including at least 122 in Australia, with names, emails, student IDs and private messages taken.
  • Attackers used a weakness in Canvas’s Free‑For‑Teacher accounts to break in on April 29 and again on May 7, and the second wave defaced hundreds of login pages and disrupted finals.
  • The House Homeland Security Committee requested a briefing and testimony from CEO Steve Daly to explain the intrusions, the data taken, and coordination with CISA and the FBI.
  • Lawsuits are piling up in U.S. courts and experts warn the stolen identifiers can drive phishing that impersonates school staff, so institutions are rotating keys, reauthorizing logins, and warning students.