This Week's Top Five Stories in Cyber
Canvas Hack: Why did Instructure Pay Ransom to ShinyHunters?
In a controversial decision in cybersecurity, edtech giant Instructure has paid ransom to ShinyHunters, after the threat group hacked into widely adopted educational software Canvas – twice.
The popularity of the tool meant widespread disruption across thousands of institutions in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK with studies affected, exams postponed and sensitive student data stolen.
ShinyHunters claimed they stole over 3.5 terabytes of data, which includes personal identifying information such as names, email addresses, student ID numbers and messages between teachers and students.
Instructure said the hackers agreed to return the data, prove they destroyed their copies and promise not to bother customers for money.
Gallagher: Is AI & Cyber Insurance a New InsurTech Frontier?
Cybersecurity professionals are confronting a new reality in 2026 where AI deployment and cyber risk management are no longer separate disciplines.
According to the latest Q1 2026 Global InsurTech Report from Gallagher Re, investment into AI-focused insurance companies reached US$1.63bn in the first quarter of the year.
This figure represents a marginal decrease from the US$1.67bn recorded in Q4 2025, but shows sustained capital interest in technologies that address digital risk.
Freddie Scarratt, Global Deputy Head of InsurTech at Gallagher Re, says: "The accumulation of silent AI risk represents a fundamental threat to underwriting discipline – it creates a scenario where insurers are providing 'accidental' capacity for complex, high-stakes events they have neither modelled nor priced."
Daybreak: OpenAI's New Dawn of AI Cyber Defence with GPT 5.5
OpenAI has launched Daybreak, a platform designed to embed AI models into software development and security workflows. The company describes the tool as built to help defenders see risk earlier and act sooner.
The premise could appeal to security teams facing advanced threats. In this uncertain security climate with AI models that can now reason through vulnerabilities and chain exploits together to map attack paths, defenders need equivalent capabilities to protect systems before attackers exploit weaknesses.
Daybreak combines the intelligence of OpenAI models with Codex and a network of security partners, "to help make the world safer for everyone," as the company adds.
It does not function as a standalone scanner. Instead, Daybreak connects to existing codebases and infrastructure to analyse systems, simulate attack routes and flag vulnerabilities before exploitation occurs.
King’s Speech Puts Cyber Resilience at Centre of UK Strategy
The UK Government’s defensive posture is hardening as state‑sponsored attacks multiply.
At the heart of the agenda is the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which will widen the UK’s oversight of critical infrastructure.
Data centres will be brought into the national cybersecurity reporting regime – signalling a policy shift that treats data facilities as essential utilities on par with water and energy.
UK citizens can expect mandatory, enforceable security standards and tighter regulatory scrutiny for operators and the wider supply chain.
HMRC Taps Quantexa AI to Dismantle Cyber-Enabled Fraud Rings
The UK’s tax system is undergoing a defensive shift as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) embarks on a £175m (US$237m), decade-long partnership with Quantexa.
This collaboration, bolstered by an expanded Microsoft integration, signals a transition toward a context-first security posture designed to dismantle the digital infrastructure of organised tax crime.
For cybersecurity professionals, the move represents a significant test case in using decision intelligence and Gen AI to close the tax gap while hardening a massive public-sector attack surface against increasingly sophisticated actors.
At the core of this technological pivot is the recognition that modern financial crime is a networked endeavor.
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Freddie Scarratt
Global Deputy Head of InsurTech at Gallagher Re
