Cyber Incident Victim: University of California, Los Angeles
Date:
May 2026
Location:
United States of America
Summary
A cyber attack claimed by the group ShinyHunters disrupted the Canvas learning management system used by thousands of educational institutions worldwide, including the University of California, Los Angeles. The outage prevented students from submitting assignments and accessing course materials, prompting several universities to postpone or cancel exams and assignments while they awaited service restoration. Instructure, the owner of Canvas, reported that the platform was gradually returning to normal for most users, though some campuses continued to experience limited access. The attackers also attempted to extort affected schools by threatening to release stolen data unless a ransom was paid.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
The cyber attack was claimed by the hacking group ShinyHunters and targeted the academic software Canvas, which is used by thousands of schools and universities worldwide. According to the report, the attack began with threatening messages that appeared on Sunday and included deadlines set for Thursday and 12 May. By late Thursday, Instructure, the company that owns Canvas, posted an update stating that the service was "available for most users", although some universities continued to report outages on Friday. The incident affected an estimated 9,000 institutions across the United States, Canada, and Australia. The attack disrupted access to coursework, assignments, and examinations for many students and faculty. Instructure advised affected users to log out immediately while it worked to restore the service.
Students at the University of California, Los Angeles reported difficulty submitting assignments online through the Canvas platform during the outage. Other universities, such as Mississippi State University, Idaho State University, and Penn State University, responded by postponing or cancelling exams to allow students time to recover lost work. The University of Sydney instructed its students not to attempt to log in to Canvas while the service was unavailable. The University of British Columbia notified its students that the Canvas outage was due to a cyber breach of Instructure and advised them to log out immediately. A screenshot shared by the Chicago Maroon showed a ransom note from ShinyHunters requesting private negotiation to avoid the release of data. The University of California, Los Angeles experience was limited to the reported struggle to submit assignments, with no further details provided in the source.