The ACS is listed as one of the victims.

ACS President Beau Tydd told Cyber Daily he was aware of the claims, and the ACS has launched an investigation.

"ACS is aware of the claims and is reviewing the matter through our standard security and risk processes,” Tydd said.

“We take data security seriously and, like many organisations referenced in claims of this nature, are treating the matter with appropriate caution.

“Our focus is on the integrity of our systems and the security of the information we hold."

The Instructure breach

Between 3 and 5 May 2026, ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for a data breach of cloud education provider Instructure and its Canvas online platform.

Via Instructure, the group claimed to have compromised the data of 275 million students and staff across “nearly 9,000” schools and universities. Instructure later confirmed the incident and is now working with government departments and educational institutions to establish the scope of the incident

On 5 May, ShinyHunters published what it called the “Entire list of affected schools by Instructure breach”. This list falls short of the claimed 9,000-odd schools, but for this listed the impact could be significant.

According to Queensland’s Department of Education, for instance, every child enrolled in a state school since 2020 – when the department launched its Canvas portal – may be impacted, and their personal data compromised.

However, while schools and universities feature prominently in the listings, many entities – such as the ACS – that offer training and other qualifications also appear.

What is the Australian Computing Society?

The ACS describes itself as “Australia’s largest and longest-serving tech community, representing professionals across industry, government and education”.

The Society has more than 40,000 members across Australia, and provides courses & education, professional development, and migration skills assessments.