Canvas back online after cyberattack, CCSD says students, staff can use platform again

Canvas, the online learning platform used by schools and universities in Southern Nevada and worldwide, was back online for most users late Thursday after it went offline following a cyberattack.

Instructure, the Salt Lake City-based parent company of Canvas, said through a post on its website that most users were able to access Canvas as of Thursday night.

“Instructure discovered the unauthorized actor involved in our ongoing security incident made changes to the pages that appeared when some students and teachers were logged in,” Instructure said Friday in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, we immediately took Canvas offline to contain access and further investigate.”

A hacking group named ShinyHunters had claimed responsibility for the breach, Luke Connolly, a threat analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emisoft, told The Associated Press.

On Friday, UNLV posted on its account on the social media page “X” that Canvas’ WebCampus system had been restored, though it cautioned students to safeguard any “essential” course materials.

“Users may now access WebCampus course materials, assignments, grading tools, and communication features,” the university said in the statement. “As a simple precaution to minimize disruption in case of any additional unanticipated Canvas issues, we recommend that you download any essential WebCampus course materials that you may need for the remainder of the semester.”

The Nevada System of Higher Education said in an email Thursday that it was aware of service disruptions to Canvas and said it was monitoring the situation and supporting its institutions.

The Clark County School District, which also uses Canvas and had said that the platform was unavailable for students and staff as of Thursday afternoon, said Friday that the service was back up.

In an email sent to CCSD families Friday morning, the district said normal system operations had been restored.

“Students and staff may log in and continue using Canvas as usual,” the district said in the email. “According to Instructure (Canvas), the incident involved unauthorized changes to certain platform pages. The issue has been contained, and there is no evidence that user credentials were compromised or that data was accessed or shared outside the system.”

Instructure did not immediately respond to a Friday email seeking for more information about the situation.