Sacramento-area schools and universities respond to Canvas data breach

Schools and universities in the Sacramento region and across the country are dealing with fallout from a data breach involving Canvas, a widely used online learning platform for students and educators.Canvas said Friday that its system was back up and running after a nationwide outage on Thursday. But some colleges and universities continued urging students and staff to avoid logging in or clicking suspicious links while institutions assessed the impact.A criminal extortion group known as ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for the breach, saying it stole data from thousands of schools. The full scope of the breach has not been independently confirmed.Students at UC Davis said they experienced problems accessing the platform for much of Friday.“I tried this morning, and it seems like it’s still down,” UC Davis student Isaac Hope said.Others said the outage and breach raised concerns about what personal information may have been exposed.“It is very scary to think about that,” UC Davis student Olivia Lysinger said. “All of my information could just be out there for anyone to see.”Myllah Mendoza, also a UC Davis student, said she repeatedly tried to log in before learning about the disruption.“Why am I not being logged in right now?” Mendoza said. “And I type it in five times. They probably got my information like five times, I guess.”Some students said they were unsure exactly what information could have been compromised, but remained uneasy.“I don’t have a lot of information on it,” UC Davis student Alys Garcia Cruz said. “It’s just me doing my homework and doing my studying.”Lysinger said students were worried about the amount of academic and personal information tied to the platform.“It’s just all of our logins and emails and just everything we’ve been doing this whole time,” she said.UC Davis advised students not to access Canvas even if it appeared to be restored. Mariella Zamora, a UC Davis student, said that the warning made sense given the risks tied to suspicious links and messages.“There are so many things that can happen by just clicking one link,” Zamora said.At Sacramento State, some students said access appeared inconsistent depending on the device being used.“It’s back up on my app,” one Sacramento State student said. “When I checked online this morning, it was still down.”Another student said the disruption added stress with finals approaching.“I want to study for my finals,” the student said. “I have finals coming up, and all of our teachers post stuff on there. I’m checking my grades constantly. So, yeah, I mean, it is stressful.”California State University officials acknowledged the platform was coming back online, but said campus data systems had not yet been reconnected to Canvas.The California Community Colleges system also relies on Canvas. Los Rios Community College officials said access had been restored, but they encouraged users to remain alert for suspicious activity.Colleges and universities are also warning students and instructors not to click links that may appear in error messages as institutions continue monitoring the breach and recovery.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Schools and universities in the Sacramento region and across the country are dealing with fallout from a data breach involving Canvas, a widely used online learning platform for students and educators.

Canvas said Friday that its system was back up and running after a nationwide outage on Thursday. But some colleges and universities continued urging students and staff to avoid logging in or clicking suspicious links while institutions assessed the impact.

A criminal extortion group known as ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for the breach, saying it stole data from thousands of schools. The full scope of the breach has not been independently confirmed.

Students at UC Davis said they experienced problems accessing the platform for much of Friday.

“I tried this morning, and it seems like it’s still down,” UC Davis student Isaac Hope said.

Others said the outage and breach raised concerns about what personal information may have been exposed.

“It is very scary to think about that,” UC Davis student Olivia Lysinger said. “All of my information could just be out there for anyone to see.”

Myllah Mendoza, also a UC Davis student, said she repeatedly tried to log in before learning about the disruption.

“Why am I not being logged in right now?” Mendoza said. “And I type it in five times. They probably got my information like five times, I guess.”

Some students said they were unsure exactly what information could have been compromised, but remained uneasy.

“I don’t have a lot of information on it,” UC Davis student Alys Garcia Cruz said. “It’s just me doing my homework and doing my studying.”

Lysinger said students were worried about the amount of academic and personal information tied to the platform.

“It’s just all of our logins and emails and just everything we’ve been doing this whole time,” she said.

UC Davis advised students not to access Canvas even if it appeared to be restored. Mariella Zamora, a UC Davis student, said that the warning made sense given the risks tied to suspicious links and messages.

“There are so many things that can happen by just clicking one link,” Zamora said.

At Sacramento State, some students said access appeared inconsistent depending on the device being used.

“It’s back up on my app,” one Sacramento State student said. “When I checked online this morning, it was still down.”

Another student said the disruption added stress with finals approaching.

“I want to study for my finals,” the student said. “I have finals coming up, and all of our teachers post stuff on there. I’m checking my grades constantly. So, yeah, I mean, it is stressful.”

California State University officials acknowledged the platform was coming back online, but said campus data systems had not yet been reconnected to Canvas.

The California Community Colleges system also relies on Canvas. Los Rios Community College officials said access had been restored, but they encouraged users to remain alert for suspicious activity.

Colleges and universities are also warning students and instructors not to click links that may appear in error messages as institutions continue monitoring the breach and recovery.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google.