Episode
How ShinyHunters hacked the world's biggest universities
- Podcast
- Smashing Security
- Published
- May 13, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3854
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.smashingsecurity.com/467
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Summary
Welcome to the largest educational data breach in history - affecting nearly 9,000 institutions, every Ivy League university, and 30 million students mid-finals. When Canvas's parent company refused to pay and announced they had deployed "security patches" instead, the hackers were less than impressed. So they came back through the cat flap. Meanwhile, a famous finance expert's face has been showing up on Facebook adverts promising hot stock tips and exclusive WhatsApp investment groups. Spoiler: it isn't him, the tips aren't real, and you're about to be scammed. Plus we chat to Mike Nichols of Elastic, about how the SOC isn't dying, attackers and defenders are both deploying AI agents, and how the real security crisis is no longer human users - it's the bots acting on their behalf. All this and more in episode 467 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Danny Palmer. EPISODE LINKS: ICO fines South Staffordshire £963K over 2022 breach - The Register. US bank reports itself after AI customer data mishap - The Register. Hackers abuse Google ads, Claude.ai chats to push Mac malware - Bleeping Computer. Canvas hack: What we know about apparent cyberattack that impacted thousands of schools - CNN. Canvas hack: Company pays criminals to delete students' stolen data - BBC News. Post by @amosmagliocco.bsky.social - Bluesky. Post by @sethcotlar.bsky.social - Bluesky. The Architecture of Deception: How a $187 Million Fraud Ecosystem Exploits Trust Across Australia and the United States - Group IB. The Fake Nobel that Duped the Romanian Academy - Scena9. A (Very) Short History of Life On Earth by Henry Gee - Waterstones. Smashing Security merchandise (t-shirts, mugs, stickers and stuff) SPONSORS: Vanta - Ex…