During the middle of finals week, reports from across the country indicate a hacking of the Canvas System, leaving possibly millions of students unable to complete last-minute assignments and finals.
Thursday Evening, college students around the country found their canvas pages inactive. Some with an ominous message from hacker group: ShinyHunters. The message includes a “Warning,” threatening to leak students’ private data.
“If any of the schools in the affected list are interested in preventing the release of their data, please consult with a cyber advisory firm and contact us privately at TOX to negotiate a settlement. You have till the end of the day by 12 May 2026 before everything is leaked.”
Students rely on Canvas for almost every assignment, with over 30 million active users and 8,000 schools relying on it daily. Luckily, SWOSU does not appear to be affected by this. Assistant Vice President of PR and Marketing Boone Clemmons sent an email to students dispelling any fears and confirming that SWOSU’s Canvas is still operational.
“Southwestern Oklahoma State University is aware of the reported issues affecting the Canvas learning management system, which appear to be impacting institutions nationally… At this time, there is no indication that SWOSU systems themselves have been compromised.”
As of now, there is no concern for SWOSU students. Classes and remaining finals should continue as usual.
