Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, was involved in a nationwide cybersecurity incident affecting the district's learning management system. Data involved includes names, email addresses, student ID numbers, and user messages. At this time, Instructure has found no indication of passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information involved. Canvas does not collect social security numbers or financial information.
Instructure is in the process of mitigating the situation and has partnered with a forensics firm and notified law enforcement, including the FBI, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and international law enforcement partners.
You can follow the incident updates here: https://www.instructure.com/incident_update
Due to this breach, Buford City Schools has stopped syncing grades from Canvas to PowerSchool. Families and students should use PowerSchool to check grades, as it is the official records keeper for monitoring your student’s academic progress.
In addition, there have been reports of users receiving phishing push notifications and/or emails claiming to be from Canvas or their schools. Please do not open these alerts. Any communication regarding school instruction related to Canvas will be in person or via school email. In general, please verify anything you receive before acting on it.
Instructure has determined that the incident has been contained and that it is safe to use.
The district will keep you updated as we receive additional information from Instructure.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.