U of T impacted by Canvas ‘cybersecurity incident’

University of Toronto is one of many schools in North America victimized by a cybersecurity incident. ‘ShinyHunters’ has taken responsibility for the attack.

The University of Toronto says its online learning system is unavailable until further notice due to a “cybersecurity incident” that is affecting multiple schools in North America.

The school made the announcement on its community updates page at 5:30 p.m.

U of T said the parent company of Canvas, which is known at the university as Quercus, “is managing a cybersecurity incident.”

“Multiple universities are affected. We are in contact with the vendor to pursue a resolution,” the message read.

A message is posted on the Quercus website that reads: “Canvas is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance.”

According to the school, Quercus is a “one-stop shop for course materials and resources.” Online courses are also hosted through the system.

CP24 has reached out to the university for more information.

Canvas’ parent company Infrastructure says on its website that the cloud-based, open-source system has more than 30 million active users around the world.