A system that thousands of schools and universities use was offline Thursday due to a cyberattack, creating chaos as students tried to study for finals and underscoring education's dependence on technology.

On Thursday, a hacker group called "ShinyHunters" said it was responsible for a data breach of Instructure, which manages Canvas.

Hackers breach learning platform, exposing data on millions of teachers and students nationwide.

A massive hack of education platform Canvas hit California especially hard. What happens next?

In the past, security professionals were true hackers at heart — passionate individuals who made money doing what they loved: breaking systems, pushing boundaries, and constantly learning. They grew their skills out of sheer curiosity and dedication.

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Davey Winder is a veteran cybersecurity writer, hacker and analyst. For the past eight years, the Bugcrowd hacking platform has surveyed its users to produce a report called “Inside ...