Moore County Schools provided information Friday regarding a nationwide cybersecurity incident involving Instructure, the provider of the Canvas Learning Management System used in grades 6-12 across the district.
The school district has been in communication with state partners and Instructure regarding this situation, and Moore County Schools has been confirmed as one of the affected districts.
“Based on the information currently available, we understand that user first and last names, email addresses, and state-issued UID numbers may have been compromised,” said the school district to parents, students and employees on May 8. “Moore County Schools does not share sensitive personal information with Canvas, so Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and financial information were not part of this incident.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and in coordination with guidance from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), Canvas access through NCEdCloud has been temporarily disabled statewide. This step is being taken to protect student and staff data while the situation is fully investigated and secured.”
ShinyHunters, a cybercrime group, took responsibility for the data breach on May 3. The group is demanding a ransom, or it will release the stolen data next week.
Instructure has reported that it has identified and contained the breach, reset access credentials and API keys, and implemented additional security measures and monitoring.
Guidance from Moore County Schools:
*Do not attempt to access Canvas until further notice.
*Do not click on links or respond to emails requesting Canvas login information.
*Be cautious of unexpected emails or messages related to Canvas, assignments, or account access.
“We will continue working closely with NCDPI and Instructure and will provide necessary updates as more information becomes available,” shared the school district.
This is the second attack the school district has had to address recently. In January 2025, Moore County Schools announced that PowerSchool, the school district’s former student information system provider, had reported a cyber incident affecting student and staff data across the state.
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Photo by Melissa Schaub/Sandhills Sentinel.
