Updated on Saturday, May 9 at 12:16 p.m. CT
Final exam are back on schedule at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign after the school restored access to Canvas following a ransomware attack.
Provost John Coleman said in an email that Technology Services staff verified there were no security risks to bringing the learning platform back online.
Coleman said exams that were previously scheduled for Friday will be held on Sunday, and instructors will reschedule assignments that were due this weekend. All exams scheduled from Monday, May 11 through Friday, May 15 will occur at their originally scheduled time.
Updated on Friday, May 8 at 10:49 p.m. CT
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign administrators said some final exams could potentially resume on Sunday — if the school determines accessing Canvas would not pose any additional security risks.
In an email to the campus community, Provost John Coleman said technology services will know on Saturday whether it can restore access to the learning platform. If no issues arise, the school will put Canvas back online and hold exams on Sunday that were previously scheduled for Friday.
If the school determine Canvas cannot be safely restored, Coleman said the school will share information about “alternate ways to end the semester” as it considers various circumstances with the end of the school year.
“Over the past day, we have listened to concerns expressed by students and instructors,” Coleman wrote. “We recognize that the unavailability of our learning management system continues to create uncertainty during an already stressful time of the year. At the same time, we remain committed to prioritizing the security of the members of our university community and their data.”
Updated on Friday, May 7 at 5:14 p.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. Those who visit the site now are greeted with a different page explaining the cybersecurity incident.
The ransom 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 two school say their Canvas access has been restored. A U of I incident web page says the school is evaluating the risks of “bringing Canvas back online for the Illinois community.”
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.