A coordinated cyberattack disrupted access to the Canvas learning platform this week, affecting tens of thousands of students across the United States and globally during a critical time in the school year. With final exams and graduations underway, cybersecurity experts say the timing of the att ack is likely intentional and designed to pressure schools into responding quickly. Kyle Berger, chief technology officer for Arlington ISD, said these types of attacks often coincide with high-stress periods on campuses. “There’s also happens at timely times, end of school year, everybody wants to get out, so when these cybercriminals hit at certain times of year, to apply that pressure because they know you’re really going to respond,” Berger said. The attack targeted Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, a platform widely used by school districts for assignments and lessons. The issue became public on Thursday when students were unable to access Canvas or encountered a message describing the cyber incident. Berger said the disruption was not isolated. “Quite a widespread attack that has happened to many educational institutions,” Berger said. The Texas Education Agency alerted school districts that names, email addresses, and student ID numbers were likely exposed in the breach. However, there is no indication that passwords or financial data were compromised. For districts like Arlington ISD, the response included temporarily disconnecting from Canvas until the company could stabilize its systems. Access to the platform was largely restored by late Friday, but officials are still urging caution. Berger said parents of K-12 students should monitor accounts for suspicious emails and avoid clicking on any unfamiliar links. “There’s probably not that much of a large concern for you as a parent to be dealing with that,” Berger said. He added that older students may face greater risk. “It’s more those at the collegiate level that might want to be a little more mindful that their personal email address and information was probably sent out,” Berger said. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication. ...read more read less