Instructure, a web-based learning management system containing teachers' and students' data across the United States appears to have been disabled, with one group claiming responsibility for the breach, according to wral.com. New Mexico State University is among thousands of schools nationwide who are affected.
Earlier Thursday, a hacker group called "ShinyHunters" said it was responsible for a data breach of Instructure, which manages the Canvas system for several schools across the country. The group said it would release data it acquired through the breach unless it was paid a ransom.
"Instead of contacting us, to resolve it, they ignored us and did some 'security patches,'" the group wrote in the note. The group said affected schools could negotiate a settlement and had until May 12 to do so.
On Instructure's website, it's states that "Instructure has placed Canvas, Canvas Beta and Canvas Test in maintenance mode. We anticipate being up soon, and will provide updates as soon as possible."
New Mexico State University issued a campus statement earlier regarding the breach, which stated "at this time, please do NOT log in, click on anything, or download any files from Canvas or Canvas-related emails/notifications. Please log out of Canvas until further notice. Our team is actively working with Canvas to assess the situation and ensure system safety. Please wait for an official all-clear before attempting to access the platform again."
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.