USF among thousands of schools impacted by nationwide cybersecurity breach
USF among thousands of schools impacted by nationwide cybersecurity breach
Publish Date: 2026-05-08 06:18:00
Source Domain: www.tampabay28.com
TAMPA, Fla. — A nationwide cybersecurity incident involving the company Instructure is impacting the University of South Florida (USF), the institution announced Thursday.
The outage is impacting Canvas, a web-based learning management system used by thousands of educational institutions across the country, which Instructure owns.
As of Thursday, USF said, temporarily, Canvas cannot be accessed. The university addressed the challenging timing of the outage, as students complete their final exams for the spring semester.
“USF understands the inconvenience this causes for our students, faculty and staff, especially at the end of a semester,” read a statement on the university website. “We recognize that students are still taking final exams, makeup exams or may still need to submit classwork through Canvas. Final grades are not due until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12.”
The university said it is exploring alternatives for those affected, while actively monitoring the situation.
USF also said it is working directly with Instructure and law enforcement to assess any specific impacts to university systems or data. Instructure has also engaged a third-party forensics firm, and notified law enforcement, to investigate the breach.
“USF’s priority is the security and privacy of our students, faculty and staff,” the statement read. “We encourage everyone to remain vigilant against phishing or suspicious communication, and report any unusual activity.”
The university said any updates to the situation will be posted to its website.
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