Cyber Attack Triggers Exam Cancellations Across Major US Universities
New Delhi: A widespread cyber attack on Thursday disrupted several universities and schools across the United States, triggering confusion and academic chaos during the crucial end-of-year examination period. The incident primarily affected the online learning platform Canvas, widely used by educational institutions for assignments, exams and course management.
The hacking group ShinyHunters reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, which temporarily knocked Canvas offline for thousands of users. The platform is owned by Instructure, which later confirmed that services were gradually restored and “available for most users” by Thursday evening.
The attack impacted institutions across the country, from California to New York, causing severe academic disruption.
Penn State University informed students that Canvas access had been fully blocked, warning that a fix was unlikely within 24 hours. The university was forced to cancel several scheduled examinations.
At the same time, students at University of California, Los Angeles reported difficulties uploading assignments and accessing course material.
Meanwhile, University of Chicago temporarily disabled its Canvas portal after detecting suspicious activity linked to the attack.
Reports also surfaced that ransom-related messages were circulated by the attackers, allegedly demanding negotiations to prevent data exposure. Cybersecurity analysts noted that threats may have been active for several days before escalating deadlines were issued.
The incident comes amid growing concern over digital security in education systems. U.S. lawmakers have also begun pushing for stronger cybersecurity measures as artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure risks increase.
Lawmakers and experts have called on the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen protection for state and educational networks to prevent future large-scale disruptions.
