BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Several local colleges were impacted by a nationwide security breach involving an online learning platform for students and professors.
A cyberattack on Thursday, May 7, shut down access to Canvas, an online platform that manages exams, course notes, lecture videos and grades.
Western Washington University said in a community email that it was among schools that were affected by the breach.
The full scope of the breach hasn’t been determined yet, but the school says the impacted data may have included names, emails and student IDs.
Whatcom Community College and Bellingham Technical College each sent similar emails to their campus communities.
The incident originated from within Canvas’s parent company Infrastructure and impacted thousands of schools from across the country. Hackers stole data from Instructure’s systems and are now trying to pressure affected schools into paying them, but the company says it will not negotiate with them.
Access to Canvas has since been restored, but schools are warning students to be wary of suspicious emails or links.
