A nationwide security incident at Instructure, the vendor that operates Canvas, occurred on May 1, 2026. This incident impacted Canvas at thousands of institutions worldwide and was not directed at the University of Illinois specifically. We are continuing to monitor this situation and will provide all updates below.
Canvas is back online
May 9, 2026. 11:56 a.m.
Technology Services staff has evaluated the Canvas application and the CIO and Provost have agreed to restore service. Users are able to log in and access materials in the application.
Please be extra cautious about clicking links or opening/downloading attachments. The University of Illinois will not ask you to provide or verify your personal data related to this incident. Passwords will never be shared or requested via email.
The Canvas application may be slower than normal.
Integrations and applications that interact with Canvas may not function initially. Technology Services staff will continue to work to enable them.
Service restoration in progress
May 8, 2026. 6:46 p.m.
We are in the process of restoring the Canvas service and are committed to making it available as quickly as possible.
Remain vigilant and be cautious about clicking links or opening /downloading attachments via email.
Another status update will be posted by noon on Saturday.
Risk evaluation continues
May 8, 2026. 10:01 a.m.
University cybersecurity professionals and leadership continue to evaluate the risk associated with bringing Canvas at Illinois back online for the Illinois community. Meetings and decisions will continue throughout the day and updates will be provided here.
Do not access Canvas
May 7, 2026. 10:26 p.m.
Users may hear that Canvas is coming back online. Users should not attempt to access the Canvas at Illinois or Canvas Catalog system until official university direction is provided through formal communication methods. This evening campus leadership made the decision to delay reactivation to evaluate risk before restoring access to our Canvas environment.
Ongoing cybersecurity event affecting campus
May 7, 2026. 4:37 p.m.
Canvas is currently offline due to an ongoing cybersecurity incident. We are awaiting information from Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, as to when the service will be available again.
View the Massmail sent to faculty, staff and students.
Nationwide security incident at Instructure
May 7, 2026
A nationwide security incident at Instructure, the vendor that operates Canvas, occurred on May 1, 2026. This incident impacted Canvas at thousands of institutions worldwide and was not directed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign specifically.
What Illinois is doing
Technology Services is actively monitoring the situation and working with the vendor, Instructure, to assess specific impacts to Illinois data.
What happened
On May 1, 2026, Instructure disclosed a cybersecurity incident that is currently under investigation. Instructure stated that the information involved consists of certain user data — including names, email addresses, student ID numbers, and messages among users. The company stated that it has found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were involved. The vendor has taken measures to protect the platform and is working with a third-party forensics firm on further investigation.
Instructure is still investigating and has not shared specific information with us regarding Illinois data included in the breach. However, neither Canvas at Illinois nor Canvas Catalog contains dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information.