Security breach that led to abusive posts on Canvas solved, CCSD says
The Clark County School District has found out how a person gained access to an online learning platform and used it to post “inappropriate messages.”
The district said in a statement late Wednesday that the staff had “identified and corrected” the problem that enabled the intruder to access the district’s Canvas system and post the messages.
“An individual gained access to credentials and was able to post inappropriate messages and content affecting primarily one school,” it said.
The district did not identify the individual or explain how the person gained access to the system.
A CCSD employee who asked not to be identified said the school was Basic High School in Henderson and that at least one message contained a racial epithet. Both teachers and students saw inappropriate messages, the employee said.
The district first said on Tuesday that it was working with the Canvas service provider to investigate reports that the messages had been viewed at “a limited number of schools.”
Canvas is the online learning management system students and teachers have used for distance learning since mid-March.
Canvas was created in 2011 by Instructure, a Salt Lake City-based educational technology company. The incident reported Tuesday was isolated to the Clark County School District and wasn’t a Canvas software issue.
The district said it will continue to work with authorities to investigate the incident.
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.