Students across major US universities were left scrambling for study materials after learning platform Canvas suffered a widespread outage linked to a reported cybersecurity incident, disrupting access just days before final exams.
The issue affected institutions including Columbia University, Rutgers University and Princeton University, with students reporting they were unable to access lecture slides, assignments and coursework hosted on the platform.
Canvas is operated by Instructure, which confirmed on May 2 that it had experienced a “cybersecurity incident perpetrated by a criminal threat actor.”
The disruption came at a critical moment in the academic calendar, with many students preparing for final exams and assignment deadlines.
At Columbia, the university acknowledged the issue publicly, posting on X that it was “aware of widespread issues impacting Canvas and actively investigating.” The university later postponed assignments and exams due on Friday because of the outage.
Students described the disruption as particularly stressful because most course materials are stored exclusively online.
“I really need the materials on it because all my lecture materials are on Canvas,” one student said, while another noted that upcoming science and psychology exams would be difficult to prepare for without access to uploaded slides.
Cybersecurity concerns have also intensified after hacking group ShinyHunters reportedly claimed responsibility for the breach online, alleging that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected.
According to cybersecurity expert Rachel Tobac, the attackers may have accessed sensitive personal information including names, email addresses, phone numbers, student ID numbers and internal messages.
Although there is no indication passwords were stolen, Tobac warned that the exposed information could still be used for highly targeted phishing scams.
“You can imagine getting an email that appears to come from a professor asking you to complete an exam immediately,” she said. “Because attackers may already know details about classes and communications, those messages can appear very convincing.”
The incident highlights the growing cybersecurity risks facing universities and digital education platforms, which have become increasingly attractive targets for cybercriminals due to the volume of personal and institutional data they hold.
Despite frustration over the outage, many students admitted they would still prefer digital learning tools over traditional textbooks because of their convenience and accessibility.
Canvas services were gradually restored for many users, though universities continue to monitor the situation and investigate the full scope of the breach.
