SAN ANTONIO — The learning management system Canvas (Instructure) experienced a global outage Thursday after administrators detected unauthorized activity, temporarily locking millions of students out of course materials and grade systems before restoring access later the same day.
The platform, used by thousands of schools worldwide, went offline for several hours before returning to service.
Instructure, the company that operates Canvas, said it identified unauthorized activity and revoked access as a security measure. The company said the system has since been restored and is fully operational.
Canvas is widely used by students to submit assignments, access lectures, and view grades, including during final exam periods.
A student at Sacramento State, Michael Lee Chang, said the outage disrupted his coursework and left students without information on their assignments.
Instructure said it received a ransom message from a hacking group identifying itself as “ShinyHunters.” The group claimed responsibility for the incident and alleged it had accessed data from schools using the platform, while also threatening to release information unless a settlement was paid by May 12. The group also claimed online that it had obtained large volumes of private messages.
The company did not confirm the extent of any data exposure but said it is conducting an investigation.
In a statement, Instructure said it is focusing on investigating the incident, providing verified updates to affected customers, and strengthening system security.
Several educational institutions reported that their systems were affected, though multiple schools said there was no confirmation that personal student data was compromised.
Instructure said updates on the incident will be posted through its official information channels as the investigation continues.
