A cyberattack targeting thousands of schools across the country, including Florida universities, temporarily knocked out access to the “Canvas” learning platform. The system, which is used nationwide at the university, high school, and elementary school levels for online exams and teacher communication, has been restored, but cybersecurity teams are continuing to investigate the situation.
The incident caused concern among students, including Florida International University student Erika Hernandez. “It’s a little scary,” Hernandez said. “There’s a lot of sensitive information. The things that students write about”.
Schools in South Florida quickly responded. Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Howard Hepburn stated that the “safety and security of our student information is top priority”. Hepburn added that the district’s cybersecurity team is working with the Canvas team to continue to assess the issue, but noted that “at this time there is no threat to our student information”.
FIU also released a statement, saying its administrators and cybersecurity team were conducting a “thorough review to verify the integrity and security of the platform before restoring access for university use”. Access to the system was to remain unavailable until further notice.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools proactively blocked access to the site for its virtual students who used the platform for specific coursework.
CBS News Miami spoke with cybersecurity expert Harry Maugans of Privacy Bee, who provided context on the attack. Maugans explained that many hacks, including the one tied to the organization “shiny hunters” behind the Canvas attack, use a “social engineering technique”. This method involves tricking an employee or person with elevated access into giving up their password.
Students are keeping a close eye on their login information. Hernandez concluded, “Cautious with platforms, you never really know what will happen”.
