Schools, universities in NC monitoring for potential impacts from Canvas data breach

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina schools, colleges, and universities are working to determine the potential impacts of a global data breach of student data tied to the Canvas learning management system.

Wake County Public Schools notified parents Wednesday about the data breach, which the district says could have exposed personal data of current students and staff may. District officials said there is no indication that passwords, dates of birth, or financial information were shared.

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction says Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, notified them of the breach.

NC DPI told ABC11 in a statement that reads in part:

"The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is aware of a cybersecurity incident reported by Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, the learning management system used by many North Carolina public schools. Instructure informed NCDPI on Tuesday afternoon that NCDPI and some North Carolina Public School Units had been impacted.

This is a developing situation. NCDPI does not yet have confirmation on which districts and charter schools are impacted. Instructure is contacting affected districts directly as it confirms that information.

NCDPI is coordinating with Instructure and the North Carolina Department of Information Technology and is in active communication with our Public School Units as the situation evolves."

Duke University also utilizes Canvas, and said university staff also have been made aware of the situation.

A Duke spokesperson shared the following statement saying:

"Duke has been notified by Canvas, which provides the university's learning management system, of a cybersecurity incident resulting in unauthorized access to data at Canvas from thousands of institutions, including Duke.

The IT Security Office is closely monitoring this incident and is continuing to assess any effect on the university community. At this time, Canvas remains operational and available to Duke faculty, staff, and students."

ABC11 has also reached out to NCCU, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, Durham Public Schools, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, and Cumberland County Schools to see if other schools have been impacted.

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ABC11 also reached out to Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, to learn more about the data breach.

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This is a developing story. Check back for more details as they come into the newsroom.