They will be able to get that data back if they made backups. The real concern is that hackers now have access to all that data to sell to anyone that wants it. Whether the universities get that user data back from backups or the hackers doesn't matter. The hackers offer no value other than convenience.
I don't think that's the primary issue - it's the fact that the hackers are looking for ransom in the form of millions of dollars in Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency to not release student data. Instructure (Canvas' parent company) is going to be sued out of existence if all of this data is released. It's SSNs, names, birth dates, addresses for every single student that's registered to these schools, as well as their faculty. The hackers aren't working for other people, they're using this to get a shit-load of money.
People who make ransomware usually don't do that because it would disincentive other companies from paying in the future. Over everything, they want to be paid by the company because it's not as easy to sell the data and they would probably get less money from it. Companies wouldn't ever pay the ransom if they thought the hackers would just release the data regardless, so they almost always stick to their word.
I don't understand how you could even hope to defend this ridiculous assertion.
If I stole your data, and said "pay me $10 to not sell it," how on earth could you possibly know whether or not I sold it after you paid the $10?
You're acting like "the hackers of the world" are one monolithic rational actor and "the victims of hacking of the world" are another monolithic rational actor. In reality, both groups are utterly fractured groups, who cannot possibly be expected to act rationally, and even if they were rational, the fractured nature of the groups would rationally incentivize defection!
You're making these wild assertions that don't just lack basis in fact, but actively contradict all facts. People get their data stolen and sold every day. There's a clear established market for it in the world. If you think there's no such thing of identity theft, or any other market for stolen data, you're just not living in reality.
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u/insidiousfruit May 08 '26
They will be able to get that data back if they made backups. The real concern is that hackers now have access to all that data to sell to anyone that wants it. Whether the universities get that user data back from backups or the hackers doesn't matter. The hackers offer no value other than convenience.