Laredo College affected by Canvas cybersecurity incident
Laredo College affected by Canvas cybersecurity incident
https://www.lmtonline.com/local/article/laredo-college-canvas-cybersecurity-incident-22249897.php
Publish Date: 2026-05-08 18:08:00
Source Domain: www.lmtonline.com
Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. Laredo College was among institutions nationwide affected Thursday by a cybersecurity incident involving Canvas, the online learning platform used by the college.Canvas users attempting to access the platform instead encountered a ransom message from a hacker group, temporarily disrupting access and functionality throughout the day.Canvas parent company Instructure said the outage affected institutions across North America and globally. The cloud-based learning management system serves more than 9,000 institutions and more than 275 million users worldwide.“Laredo College’s web-based learning management system Canvas is currently experiencing a system outage affecting access and functionality,” the college said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “The issue appears to be part of a broader incident involving Instructure, the provider of the Canvas Learning Management System, and is not isolated to the college.”In a follow-up statement Friday, the college confirmed the outage stemmed from a broader global cybersecurity incident impacting institutions worldwide.While services appeared to gradually return Thursday evening, the college warned some users may continue experiencing delays as systems stabilize. Students, instructors and administrators were also asked to avoid using the platform temporarily.“Out of an abundance of caution, Laredo College has asked students and employees to refrain from using Canvas at this time while our Information Technology team continues testing system functionality and monitoring performance,” the college said. “We will keep everyone informed through our official communication channels once we verify that the system is stable and safe to access again.”The college said it remains in communication with Instructure and is continuing to receive updates from the company’s technical and security teams as the situation develops.“Authorities are actively investigating the incident, and the college will continue to share official updates with students and employees as more information becomes available,” the college said.
