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The University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU) are among thousands of learning institutions around the world that say a cyber breach of the Canvas learning software could affect students’ personal information.
A UBC network status page said on Thursday afternoon that any students still logged in to the software — which is used to access course information, submit assignments and participate in discussions — should log out until they’re notified it’s safe to access the software again.
The network status page said that the university first became aware of a “cyber-related incident” involving Instructure, Canvas’s U.S.-based parent company, late Tuesday afternoon.
An SFU spokesperson said around 9,000 learning institutions around the world have been affected by the “systems breach.”
“Information that may have been involved includes names, email addresses, student ID numbers and messages among Canvas users,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
Data breaches, hacks and ransomware attacks seem to be in the news more often. But cybersecurity experts say there are helpful steps you can take to protect yourself in the wake of a data breach, and to prepare for the next time it happens.
The UBC page advises students who logged into Canvas on Thursday afternoon to change their password.
“We recommend that faculty, staff, and students continue to be vigilant against phishing and follow best practices for protecting their accounts and data, including using strong passwords and enabling multi-factor authentication where available,” the page reads.
CBC News has reached out to Instructure for this story, as well as the student unions at UBC and SFU.
UBC and SFU are B.C.’s two biggest universities by student enrolment.
