29 May 2026 

The University has been advised by Instructure that UTS Canvas users were likely impacted by the recent cyber incident.  

Instructure has confirmed the data fields in the UTS Canvas environment that were possibly compromised as: 

  • First and last name 
  • Preferred name 
  • Preferred pronoun 
  • Preferred language 
  • Email address used for Canvas login  
  • Any other email addresses in the user’s Canvas profile  
    Chat (if this function was used) 
  • Activity time and date stamps (e.g time/date of chat, or log in actions) 

This does not necessarily mean your own personal data has been accessed. The Australian Government’s National Office of Cyber Security continues to engage with Instructure on behalf of Australian customers to identify the specific users whose data was compromised.  

Detailed updates and FAQs about the incident are available on the Instructure website. 

What you need to do  

Remain alert for phishing or scam messages, particularly non-UTS emails or messages referring to Canvas access, password resets or referring to a data breach.  Do not click on any links in suspicious messages.  

You can find tips for spotting phishing or scam emails on the Cybersecurity page.  

Support 

If you have any questions about Canvas or data privacy at UTS, you can contact IT support on +61 2 9514 2222 or via serviceconnect.uts.edu.au  
Students can access free, confidential support via the UTS Counselling Service. Phone 02 9514 1177 or email student.services@uts.edu.au to make an appointment.  

For information about how your data is protected by law, visit the Information and Privacy Commission NSW   

Sunday 10/05/2026 7.20pm

This is an update on Friday's advice regarding the global cyber incident impacting the Canvas learning management system.

Access to Canvas has been fully restored for staff and students from 6pm Sunday 10 May.

As advised on Friday afternoon, no student will be disadvantaged or penalised as a result of the outage – the extension of all Canvas related assessment is still in place. The new due date for these tasks is Friday 15th May at 11.59pm. This includes due dates for students holding special consideration or a simple extension for this period. More information is available on their website.

Our reactivation of access to Canvas follows engagement with the Australian Government’s National Office of Cyber Security and assurance from Instructure, the vendor, that Canvas is operational and secure.  More information is available on their website. 

We have conducted our own extensive checks of the UTS Canvas environment.  No suspicious or abnormal activity has been identified, and there is no evidence of unauthorised access or any loss of UTS data.

What this means for students

Canvas access has now been restored. Log in via your secure UTS single sign‑on to view readings, lecture recordings and assessment information.

Extensions have been automatically granted for assessments impacted by the Canvas outage until 11.59pm on Friday 15 May. 

Subject coordinators will provide advice to students on any rescheduled assessments.
 

What you need to do

  • Check and review your Canvas content and notify your subject coordinator if anything appears unusual or incorrect.
    Stay alert for phishing or scam messages, particularly non-UTS emails or messages referring to Canvas access, password resets or referring to a data breach.
  • Do not click on any links in these messages. Please contact your subject coordinator if you have concerns.
  • Please note as the UTS Canvas environments come back online, you may receive some previously scheduled messages that contain out-of-date information. The usual notifications from
  • Canvas will come from ‘notifications@ instructure.com’
    As always, keep regular backups of your work and ensure files are stored securely using approved UTS systems.

Need IT help?

If you have urgent concerns or need to report anything suspicious, please contact IT Support by calling 02 9514 2222 or logging a ticket on serviceconnect.uts.edu.au.

Your data security and privacy are important to us and we continue to work closely with Instructure and relevant authorities on the incident.

Support

Students 

UTS Counselling Service offers free, confidential support for students. You can phone 02 9514 1177 or email student.services@uts.edu.au to make an appointment. Please let receptionists know if you are requesting an urgent appointment. 

Staff

Staff can connect with our confidential employee assistance program, TELUS Health (1300 361 008) and Yamurrah for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues. The service can also be used by immediate family members and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.