TAMPA, Fla. — A nationwide cybersecurity incident involving the company Instructure is impacting Hillsborough County schools and the University of South Florida, according to statements from officials released on Thursday.
The outage is affecting Canvas, a web-based learning management system owned by Instructure and used by thousands of educational institutions across the country.
Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) released a statement on May 7, notifying parents and students about the incident.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily inactivated Canvas from all district devices. We also strongly caution you not to access Canvas from a home or personal device or from the app," said the statement from HCPS.
The statement said there is no indication of a new active threat.
"We want to stress there is no indication of a new active threat, but we are taking this step to ensure the continued protection for student, family, and staff information," said the statement.
Also on May 7, 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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