The Canvas Ransom: Why Instructure's Decision to Pay ShinyHunters Reopened Cybersecurity's Oldest Argument
Few debates in cybersecurity are as old, or as unresolved, as whether organizations should ever pay a ransom to the criminals who attacked them. In May 2026, that debate found a new and uniquely uncomfortable test case: Instructure, the company behind Canvas, the learning management system used by thousands of schools and universities across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.