By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and COREY WILLIAMS Associated Press
Updated
A key online learning system used by thousands of schools and universities is back after a cyberattack knocked it offline, creating chaos as students tried to study for finals. A cybersecurity threat analyst says a hacking group called ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for breaching Canvas. Instructure, the company behind Canvas, said late Thursday that the system was available for most users. An expert says the hackers posted online that nearly 9,000 schools worldwide were affected, with billions of private messages and other records accessed. Teachers had to find workarounds to help students study for exams and submit final assignments, and some schools pushed back finals.
Pro-Iranian hackers are targeting sites in the Middle East and starting to stretch into the United States during the war. Hackers supporting Iran claimed responsibility for a significant cyberattack against a U.S. medical device company. They've also tried to penetrate cameras in Middle Eastern countries to improve Iran's missile targeting and targeted data centers in the region. National security and cybersecurity experts say Iran's government will look to leverage its cyber capabilities against the military dominance of the United States. American ports, waste water treatment plans and power stations are among the most likely targets.
