Urgent Campus Information

• As a standard best practice, we also recommend clearing your browser cache (PDF) and cookies prior to using Canvas LMS.
• Instructure has indicated that there is no evidence that the unauthorized actor established persistence, obtained credentials for accounts. However, faculty are asked to do a quick review of your course “Announcements” or “Modules.” If you see any unfamiliar links or messages, especially any that were posted between May 3 and May 7, do not click them. Delete them and contact the IT Division by emailing [email protected]. 
• Be cautious about requests marked as urgent. The group responsible for this breach may attempt to send highly convincing phishing emails. Continue to be on  high alert to unsolicited emails or messages appearing to come from Canvas, particularly any requesting login credentials or personal information. Report anything suspicious to [email protected]. 
• While there is no direct evidence at this time of malware being injected into existing files, we recommend that users not download and open unexpected or unfamiliar attachments that appeared during the outage period, and notably between May 3 and May 7.

If you are experiencing issues accessing Canvas or loading course content, the steps below can help resolve common browser-related problems. Start by clearing your browser’s cache and cookies, which often addresses login errors and page loading issues. Then, follow the sign-in steps to access Canvas using your SDSU credentials. The clear cache instructions (PDF) are organized so you can quickly find guidance for your specific browser and complete the process with minimal disruption.

• SDSU remains open.
• Finals are ongoing. SDSU is not canceling finals at this time.
• Commencement and other graduation-related events and activities remain scheduled to continue.
• Take precautions:

  • If you receive any emails requesting that you share personal information or make a payment, or any other emails that appear to be suspicious, do not respond and forward such messages to [email protected]. Do not attempt to open any links, do not download any attachments and do not reply to the message.

• Continue plans for taking final exams and completing final assignments at scheduled times and locations, unless otherwise noted by your instructors. 
• Log in to Canvas this morning to connect with your instructors if you have questions related to final assignments and exams. 
• If you do not know your faculty member’s email address, you can search for their contact information using the Campus Directory.

• Log in to Canvas as soon as possible and communicate plans to students (if you email your students directly, please use bcc). 
• If you have not done so already, we recommend that you also download and preserve grade books and other course materials. 
• Please do not reschedule finals on your own to avoid conflicts for your own students, but discuss with your chair/director and dean for further guidance. If your exams were impacted by the outage, please consult with your Dean’s office for guidance. 
• Faculty are encouraged to stay in close communication with students, extend flexibility with any immediate assignments and final exam deadlines
• For those faculty members who had an exam scheduled Thursday, May 7 or Friday, May 8 that was disrupted by the outage, please connect with your Dean’s Office to share how you plan to support your class moving forward, as well as any assistance you may need from the college or the broader university.

May 8 at 9:55 a.m.: Canvas access is being restored this morning, May 8, following a global Canvas outage. Instructure confirmed this morning that there is no evidence showing compromised accounts. SDSU has re-enabled single sign-on for students, faculty and staff and all at SDSU should have full access to the portal today. Students should continue planning for final assignments and final exams and connect with their faculty members; SDSU is not canceling finals. Faculty should download and preserve any important course materials, including grade books. Be attentive and do not ignore anything that looks unfamiliar or suspicious. Change your password if anything appears suspicious and always report suspicious emails by forwarding them to [email protected]. More information: Urgent.sdsu.edu

May 7 at 3:22 p.m.: SDSU Alert: As of 3:10 p.m. today, reports are being received from other universities that students are being contacted directly with ransomware offers. If anyone receives information to this effect, do not respond and forward such messages to [email protected]. Do not attempt to open any links, do not download any attachments and do not reply to the message. As a reminder: We are aware of reports that millions of users are currently impacted globally. Given this situation, university has disabled single sign-on as an additional precaution as we await further information from Instructure. Students, faculty and staff should not attempt to access the Canvas portal at this time and until receiving a notification from the university that access is cleared.  

May 7 at 3:03 p.m.: SDSU Alert: As an update, we are continuing to monitor the Canvas security incident, which is reported to be impacting millions of people worldwide. At this time, there is no evidence within the SDSU environment indicating that Social Security numbers and banking information is compromised, and we continue to actively gather information from Instructure to confirm details.

Faculty are encouraged to stay in close communication with students and extend flexibility with any immediate assignment and final exam deadlines and to rely on alternate communications channels, such as SDSU email accounts, Zoom and the full Google Workspace (such as Google Docs). Using these resources for course communication can help minimize disruption as we approach the end of the academic term.

For those faculty members who may have an exam scheduled for today that was disrupted by the outage, please work with your department chair to determine makeup or alternative options. 

May 7 at 1:50 p.m.: SDSU Alert: Instructure Update from the California State University system indicates that Canvas is experiencing an outage. Reports indicate that the outage is worldwide. SDSU is working closely with the CO and our third-party partner to understand more about the impacts and an estimate for restoration.