LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — A nationwide hack tied to the Canvas learning management system is affecting schools and universities in Nevada, disrupting students as they prepare for finals and raising concerns about what information could be exposed.
The Nevada System of Higher Education and the Clark County School District said they are aware of a hack involving Canvas.
Cybersecurity experts say ShinyHunters, a notorious ransomware group well-known to law enforcement, sent a message to thousands of American schools Thursday afternoon demanding a ransom and warning that information could be leaked.
Moncerra, a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said she was studying for finals at the school’s library when she and millions of other students across the country received the message.
“That’s another stress that we definitely don’t need right now,” Moncerra said.
Cybersecurity expert Dr. Mack Jackson Junior said the data taken could include “personal, identifiable information from students,” as well as research information that is used by government entities and medical records.
Dr. Jackson said the information could be used for blackmail, identity theft, and profit.
“A lot of it now is going beyond just ransom because now they have copies of the data, they can use it to sell it to other bad people around the world for more money,” he said.
Dr. Jackson, along with officials from the Nevada System of Higher Education and CCSD, urged students and staff to avoid clicking any links or trying to log in to Canvas.
The outage has created immediate challenges for students trying to finish coursework.
“You know, we’re trying to study for finals, especially accounting and things of different natures, so because of that, I can’t log in and see my coursework, so I’m forced to not be able to study for my exams,” UNLV student Terrence said.
Terrence and Moncerra, both pre-business majors, said they were working on major end-of-semester assignments and projects before the system was hacked. Terrence said he had a presentation scheduled later that day and was unsure how he would access materials if Canvas remained unavailable.
“I don’t know how I’m going to be able to utilize our presentation material if we can’t log into Canvas, because we all submit it through Canvas,” he said.
Moncerra said Canvas is also a key gateway to class resources.
“A lot of our information, too, it’s not just about submitting assignments, but if we want to access information or certain websites or resources, we usually go through Canvas, so that’s basically what we use to access everything,” she said.
Dr. Jackson said incidents like this are a reminder for people to stay alert online, limit their social media digital footprint, remove information from data brokers, change passwords often, and use multi-factor identification.
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