A global cyberattack on Canvas, the online education platform, compromises personal information of more than 72,000 students and staff across Hong Kong educational institutions, according to the city’s privacy watchdog. Reports based on the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data state that 72,000-plus people in Hong Kong are affected as part of a wider breach that reaches nearly 9,000 educational institutions worldwide and involves data from about 275 million users.
Several Hong Kong schools and universities have reported incidents to the privacy watchdog, including major institutions such as HKUST and PolyU, along with other schools and universities. The privacy commissioner says she condemns any ransom payment by the platform’s owner, arguing that funds should be used to strengthen cybersecurity and urging affected users to remain alert.
Separately, Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, says it reached an agreement with the hackers to return compromised data and plans to provide additional information through a leadership webinar. The privacy watchdog also questions whether stolen data has been fully returned and reiterates warnings to watch for suspicious calls or messages.
