University of Minnesota hack: Cyberattack hits thousands of schools nationwide during final exams

U University of Minnesota hit by Canvas system hack

A cyberattack targeting an educational program used by thousands of schools across the country is impacting the University of Minnesota, with hackers threatening to release user data unless a ransom is paid. FOX 9's Bill Keller has the latest details. 

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota (U of M) is alerting its students to a cyberattack that targeted an educational software platform as hackers threaten to release the personal information of millions of users across the country. 

The U of M is one of about 8,000 schools across the country that uses "Canvas," a software program that is used to upload assignments, administer tests and access things like grades and lecture videos. 

The hack comes as the academic school year winds down, with final exams on the horizon and graduations set to begin in less than a week.

READ MORE: Canvas reportedly hacked by ShinyHunters, claiming data breach

Nationwide cyberattack hits University of Minnesota 

What we know:

A hacking group calling itself "ShinyHunters" claimed on Thursday that it accessed the information of hundreds of millions of Canvas users and will release that information if a ransom isn't paid by May 12.

Following the breach, the software owned by the parent company "Instructure" is now shut down. 

The hackers also claimed they breached the company a second time after it installed security patches instead of contacting them.

Instructure officials say there's no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, social security numbers or financial information were compromised.

What they're saying:

Several local school districts have sent e-mails to parents warning about the breach.

An alert posted on the U of M website confirms it's affected, saying, "As of 3:20 Thursday afternoon, users are unable to access Canvas. University canvas administrators are monitoring the situation and awaiting updates from the vendor."

The post continues by saying that the parent company of Canvas also owns Parchment, which is an official transcript producer, and "out of an abundance of caution, transcript ordering is currently unavailable."

Juan Guevara Torres, a technology expert, said, "They're asking for money to give them access or to prevent a data leak. In my experience, most universities will not negotiate that. So we're looking at a possible big data leak of minor data, student data, which could be potentially very concerning."

What you can do:

Cybersecurity expert Robert Sicilian offered advice to anyone who uses Canvas.

"This particular breach looks like it's affecting as many as 8,000 different schools, could be as many as 270 million people are affected by this," Sicilian said. "What we all need to do is be on the lookout for emails coming from the schools and the motivation of that email is, if they're asking you to click something, download something, provide any sensitive information, simply don't!"

What we don't know:

The specifics of the hackers' demands have not been shared. 

What's next:

Students at the U of M are now in the middle of final exams with graduation ceremonies set to happen next week.