Global cyberattack on Canvas learning platform impacts 5 HK institutions amid extortion threats

A massive hacking attack on the widely used educational platform Canvas has compromised data and blocked access at approximately 9,000 institutions worldwide, including five in Hong Kong, as cybercriminals threaten to leak sensitive information if ransom demands are not met.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data confirmed on Friday that the local institutions caught in the global breach include the Polytechnic University, the University of Science and Technology, the Academy for Performing Arts, the Hong Kong Institute of Construction, and Hong Kong Education City Limited.