Canvas Cyber Security Incident

Canvas has been available again since late Thursday evening, so we are marking this alert as resolved. A follow-up regarding this incident has been posted to: https://blogs.vcu.edu/cio/2026/05/11/vcus-response-to-the-instructure-canvas-cybersecurity-incident/

Instructure confirmed that Canvas is back up and running. VCU Technology Services is continuing to check the VCU Canvas instance for integrity issues. While Canvas is currently available, users are advised to exercise caution and avoid clicking unknown links or downloading unrecognized files. Please contact itsc@vcu.edu if you discover any suspicious files, messages, and/or links in your Canvas course. We will provide updates as more information becomes available.

Because this third-party vendor, Instructure, investigation is ongoing, we cannot provide any future restoration timelines at this time. VCU is actively monitoring the situation and will provide all relevant updates via it.vcustatus.com as soon as they become available.

VCU is advising all students, faculty, and staff to be aware and not to click on any links, visit any advertised websites, or open unsolicited messages or emails that appear related to Instructure or Canvas.

VCU is aware of a cyber incident involving Instructure (Canvas). The reported breach potentially affects thousands of institutions worldwide and is not unique to VCU. VCU is working with Instructure to understand the potential impact of the incident.

As a result of the incident, VCU has temporarily taken Canvas offline and will work with Instructure to restore service as soon as possible. Additionally, VCU is advising all students, faculty, and staff to be aware and not to click on any links, visit any advertised websites, or open unsolicited messages or emails that appear related to Instructure or Canvas.

VCU is actively monitoring the situation and will share relevant updates with the community.