Suspected data breach in Canvas
There has been a cybersecurity incident and a probable data breach on the Canvas learning platform. KTH has stepped up monitoring of the system and has implemented technical security measures.
KTH is one of many higher education institutions that have been affected in Sweden and internationally. The information that may have been exposed includes user data such as name, email address, student ID, and messages exchanged between users in Canvas. This means that phishing emails in the near future may be more sophisticated, for example containing familiar names and relevant information mixed with manipulated content.
Currently, there is no information indicating that passwords have been compromised. If you are an employee at KTH, your personal login credentials are protected by multi-factor authentication (MFA). However, as is always advisable in incidents of this kind, users should review their passwords and ensure that the same password is not used across multiple services. This applies to both staff and students.
The incident has been reported
KTH has received information about the cybersecurity incident from Sunet (Swedish University Computer Network) and Canvas’s provider Instructure. Like all Swedish higher education institutions, KTH purchases the Canvas service through Sunet, which has procured it from Instructure. An investigation is ongoing at Instructure, together with external security experts. KTH is closely monitoring the situation and maintains ongoing dialogue with Sunet and Instructure.
KTH has reported a suspected personal data incident to the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY). The incident has also been reported to the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency (MCF). KTH is also conducting our own assessment of the incident in accordance with applicable regulations.
The information is updated continuously.
See also the news article: Extra monitoring of Canvas