OCAD University, UBC and SFU: Cyberattack hits universities around the world including Canada

Global Cyberattack Targets Thousands of Universities via Canvas Platform

A widespread cyberattack has impacted approximately 9,000 universities worldwide, including institutions across Canada, by exploiting vulnerabilities in Canvas, a widely used learning management system. The breach has left schools scrambling to assess the extent of compromised data, with affected organizations including UBC, SFU, the University of Toronto, OCAD University, and Western University’s Ivey Business School.

The incident highlights the growing threat to educational institutions, which often rely on third-party platforms for critical operations. While details on the attack’s origin and scope remain limited, the breach underscores the risks posed by centralized digital infrastructure in academia. Authorities and IT teams are actively investigating the fallout, though no specific timeline or attribution has been confirmed.

The attack follows a broader trend of cybercriminals targeting sectors with high-value data, including universities, which store sensitive student, faculty, and research information. The full impact on affected institutions is still being determined.

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7193813

OCAD University TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/ocad-university

UBC TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/ubc

SFU TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/sfubeedie

"id": "ubcsfuoca1778294319",
"linkid": "ubc, sfubeedie, ocad-university",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "5/2026",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'Canada',
                        'name': 'University of British Columbia (UBC)',
                        'type': 'University'},
                       {'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'Canada',
                        'name': 'Simon Fraser University (SFU)',
                        'type': 'University'},
                       {'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'Canada',
                        'name': 'University of Toronto',
                        'type': 'University'},
                       {'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'Canada',
                        'name': 'OCAD University',
                        'type': 'University'},
                       {'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'Canada',
                        'name': 'Western University’s Ivey Business School',
                        'type': 'Business School'}],
 'attack_vector': 'Vulnerability Exploitation',
 'data_breach': {'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': 'Sensitive student, faculty, and '
                                             'research information'},
 'description': 'A widespread cyberattack has impacted approximately 9,000 '
                'universities worldwide by exploiting vulnerabilities in '
                'Canvas, a widely used learning management system. The breach '
                'has left schools scrambling to assess the extent of '
                'compromised data, with affected organizations including UBC, '
                'SFU, the University of Toronto, OCAD University, and Western '
                'University’s Ivey Business School. The incident highlights '
                'the growing threat to educational institutions, which often '
                'rely on third-party platforms for critical operations.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': 'Sensitive student, faculty, and research '
                                'information',
            'operational_impact': 'Schools scrambling to assess the extent of '
                                  'compromised data',
            'systems_affected': 'Canvas Learning Management System'},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
 'references': [{'source': 'Cyber Incident Description'}],
 'title': 'Global Cyberattack Targets Thousands of Universities via Canvas '
          'Platform',
 'type': 'Data Breach',
 'vulnerability_exploited': 'Canvas Learning Management System Vulnerabilities'}