
Police shoot man dead in Bedford after overnight standoff
Police shoot man dead in Bedford after overnight standoff; investigation launched.

Canvas platform's parent company, Instructure, has reached a deal with hackers to delete stolen student data following a cyberattack that disrupted access during finals. The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility, threatening to leak data from nearly 9,000 schools worldwide.
Mentioned in this story
The company that operates online learning system Canvas said it struck a deal with hackers to delete the data they pilfered in a cyberattack that created chaos for students, many of them in the middle of finals.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, said in an online post that it “reached an agreement with the unauthorized actor involved in this incident”.
The disruption caused panic last week among students and faculty members when they were locked out of a platform they rely on to manage grades and access course notes and assignments. Schools and universities delayed final exams in response to the breach.
The company didn’t provide any details on the agreement, including whether it involved a payment, and didn’t elaborate who was behind the hack. Instructure temporarily took the system offline while it investigated, locking out students and faculty.
A hacking group named ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for last week’s breach, threatening to leak data involving nearly 9,000 schools worldwide and 275 million individuals if schools did not pay a ransom by 6 May. The group then extended the deadline, indicating some schools had engaged with them to negotiate.
As part of the deal, the data was returned to Instructure. The company said Monday that it also received “digital confirmation” that the hackers destroyed any remaining copies, in the form of “shred logs”.
The company acknowledged that there was no way to be sure that the data was erased for good, and said it took action because of concerns about potential publication of the data.
“While there is never complete certainty when dealing with cyber criminals, we believe it was important to take every step within our control to give customers additional peace of mind, to the extent possible,” Instructure said.
The data breach appeared to involve student ID numbers, email addresses, names and messages on the Canvas platform, Instructure’s chief information security officer, Steve Proud, said earlier this month. The company found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identification or financial information were compromised, it said.
The company said it was working with “expert vendors” to do a forensic analysis, “further harden” its systems, and carry out a “comprehensive review of the data involved”.
Schools and universities use Canvas to manage nearly all aspects of instruction. The platform acts as a gradebook, a hub for digital lectures and course materials, a discussion board for classroom projects, and a messaging platform between students and instructors.
Some courses also give quizzes and exams on the platform, or use it as a portal where final projects and papers are submitted on deadline.
The stolen data involved information from nearly 9,000 schools and 275 million individuals.
The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on the Canvas platform.
Instructure temporarily took the Canvas system offline and negotiated with the hackers to delete the stolen data.

Police shoot man dead in Bedford after overnight standoff; investigation launched.

EBay turns down GameStop's $56 billion bid, citing financing concerns.

Anil Kochhar to Pay Off Student Loans for NC State Graduates

Thousands of University of Nottingham staff at risk of redundancy due to financial cuts.

Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon have killed at least 10 people, including two paramedics from the Lebanese Civil Defense. The strikes occurred amid a failed ceasefire in the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah.

An Israeli investigation reports systematic sexual violence by Hamas during the 7 October attacks, aimed at maximizing suffering. The 300-page report is based on extensive survivor interviews and evidence.
See every story in News — including breaking news and analysis.