Canvas Cyberattack Exposes Student Data Risks at Universities

In this episode we discuss the recent cyber attack targeting Instructure's widely used learning platform, Canvas, and the major late-breaking development that Instructure reached an "agreement" with the ShinyHunters cybercriminal group after threats to leak large amounts of stolen student and faculty data. Instructure says the stolen data was returned and that attackers provided digital confirmation that the information was destroyed, but the company did not deny making a payment—language that many in cybersecurity interpret as a ransom settlement. Show notes: https://sharedsecurity.net/2026/05/18/cybersecurity-lessons-from-the-canvas-data-breach/