Global cyberattack on Canvas learning platform impacts five Hong Kong institutions amid extortion threats

A massive hacking attack on the widely used educational platform Canvas has compromised data and blocked access at approximately 9,000 institutions worldwide, including five in Hong Kong, as cybercriminals threaten to leak sensitive information if ransom demands are not met.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data confirmed on Friday that the local institutions caught in the global breach include the Polytechnic University, the University of Science and Technology, the Academy for Performing Arts, the Hong Kong Institute of Construction, and Hong Kong Education City Limited.

The scale of the local disruption is significant, with the privacy watchdog noting that about 42,000 students and staff were affected at the Polytechnic University alone, alongside another 2,500 individuals at the Institute of Construction. Authorities are still working to determine the exact number of people impacted at the other three Hong Kong organizations.

Canvas serves as a critical digital infrastructure for schools globally, utilized for managing course notes, assignments, lecture videos, and student grades. The breach resulted in users being locked out of these essential academic resources.

Cybersecurity analysts have identified the hacking collective known as ShinyHunters as the group claiming responsibility for the widespread disruption.

The attackers have escalated the situation by threatening to expose the stolen data, setting tight deadlines in early May for their demands to be met.

Reports indicate that negotiations regarding potential extortion payments might already be underway behind the scenes.

The international fallout from the cyberattack has been particularly disruptive in the United States. Major Ivy League and research institutions, including Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Pennsylvania, found their systems compromised at a highly critical point in the academic calendar, severely impacting students as they were preparing for their final exams.

 

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