By: Richard L. Smith
Rutgers University is among thousands of colleges and educational institutions impacted by a growing cybersecurity breach involving Canvas, one of the most widely used online learning platforms in the world.
According to officials, the breach stems from a nationwide security incident involving Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, the digital platform used daily by students and professors for assignments, exams, grades and communication back in early May. 
The incident has raised serious concerns across higher education as colleges scramble to determine what information may have been exposed and how students could be affected moving forward.
Rutgers confirmed that the university was notified the school had been impacted by the breach, which reportedly affected thousands of institutions globally.
University officials said there is currently no indication that passwords, Social Security numbers, financial information or dates of birth were compromised, but investigations remain ongoing.
Cybersecurity experts say the breach highlights how vulnerable colleges have become as universities increasingly rely on cloud-based learning systems to handle nearly every aspect of student life.
For many students in New Jersey and around the country, Canvas is more than just a website.
It stores coursework, academic schedules, student identification information, emails, professor communications and sometimes private academic discussions.
Reports indicate hackers may have gained access to names, email addresses, student ID numbers and messages shared through the platform.
The timing of the breach has also caused added frustration, with many colleges entering final exam season.
Rutgers acknowledged that exams, project submissions and coursework may have been disrupted as schools worked to respond to the incident.
Authorities say the breach is part of a larger global trend in which hackers increasingly target schools and universities because they contain massive amounts of personal data and often operate large interconnected systems.
Officials are urging students to remain alert for suspicious emails, phishing attempts or unusual account activity while cybersecurity teams continue investigating the full scope of the attack.
The platform is currently up and running.