The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign had to reschedule some final exams to Mother's Day after Instructure, the parent company of learning platform Canvas reached a deal with hackers.
The company did not provide any details on the agreement but confirmed in a statement that it “reached an agreement with the unauthorized actor involved in this incident.”
Hackers threatened to leak data involving nearly 9,000 schools and 275 million individuals if schools did not pay a ransom by May 6. That deadline was eventually extended.
While Instructure investigated the incident, Canvas had to temporarily shut down, locking out students and faculty. The platform houses courses and is also where teachers give quizzes and accept final projects and papers. As a result of the shutdown, U of I rescheduled Friday's final exams to Mother's Day.
In an email to students, faculty and staff, Provost John Coleman wrote, "We all understand this solution is not ideal ... Some students, faculty, and staff have religious observances on Sunday. And Sunday, May 10, is Mother’s Day. However, this course of action has emerged as the best option among a list of potential solutions, each of which had complications and downsides.”
He also urged people to “be aware of increased risk associated with phishing and social engineering."
