Canvas hack: is it ever a good idea to pay a ransom, and what happens to the data?

Data and computer security | The Guardian

16 May 2026 at 20:00

Businesses are advised against paying – but many are prepared to deal to protect users’ privacy

After a week of outages, hundreds of millions of students’ data stolen, delayed assignment due dates and school login pages being defaced by hackers, the US tech firm Instructure – which operates the education platform Canvas, used by education providers worldwide – announced it had “reached an agreement with the unauthorised actor” behind the ransomware attack.

Experts read the careful language as a sign that a ransom has been paid. The company has not confirmed this.

Spain's Ministry of Science shuts down systems after breach claims

BleepingComputer

By: Bill Toulas

5 February 2026 at 22:23

Spain's Ministry of Science (Ministerio de Ciencia) announced a partial shutdown of its IT systems, affecting several citizen- and company-facing services. [...]

Italian university La Sapienza goes offline after cyberattack

BleepingComputer

By: Bill Toulas

5 February 2026 at 18:02

Rome's "La Sapienza" university has been targeted by a cyberattack that impacted its IT systems and caused widespread operational disruptions at the educational institute. [...]