Updated on Friday, May 7 at 12:03 a.m. CT
All final exams scheduled to occur from Friday to Sunday have been postponed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign due to a ransomware attack.
Students and teaching assistants trying to access assignments in the learning platform Canvas, a leading online course system, were greeted with a ransomware message Thursday afternoon.
The message claimed a group called ShinyHunter has hacked Canvas. The global cyber attack has affected universities across the country, including Illinois State University and Lake Land College in Mattoon.
Those who visit the site now are greeted with a page explaining the cybersecurity incident.
The hack comes as U of I final exams were scheduled to begin on Friday. In an email to the campus community, Provost John Coleman said all exams scheduled for Friday, Saturday or Sunday would be postponed, including for classes that do not use Canvas.
“Technology and academic leaders are communicating with our peer institutions as we explore options for next steps,” Coleman wrote. “I understand this situation adds new stress and uncertainty to the end of the academic year, and I thank you for your patience as we work through this disruption.”
Earlier Thursday afternoon, administrators said Canvas’ parent company would have to address the issue.
“We are awaiting information from Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, as to when the service will become available again,” said Vice Provost for IT and Chief Information Officer Mairéad Martin said in a statement. “Until the vendor can solve this problem, course materials will be unavailable.”
“Members of university leadership are discussing next steps, with sensitivity to the impacts on students and instructors during the final exam period.”
ShinyHunter is threatening the universities with leaking their data, saying they have until Tuesday next week to pay up.