ISU and BYU-I students locked out of Canvas following major cyber incident

UPDATED: 5:08 p.m.

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — Thousands of students across the nation have lost access to Canvas after a confirmed cybersecurity incident. Canvas works as a digital platform, allowing students to submit assignments, images, videos, and take tests or exams.

In an urgent email to affected Idaho State University students obtained by Local News 8, ISU officials confirmed that Instructure, the parent company of the Canvas platform, fell victim to a "cybersecurity incident perpetrated by a criminal threat actor." ISU's Information Technology team and Instructional Technology Resource Center are actively monitoring the situation.

Instructure provides Canvas services to thousands of K-12 schools and colleges across the nation. A report by The BYU-Idaho Scroll confirms that the breach has disrupted Canvas at other regional schools and potentially over 9,000 institutions nationwide, including: BYU, BYU-I, and the College of Eastern Idaho.

The timing could not be worse, as students navigate the exams and assignments in the final days of the Spring 2026 semester.

Local News 8 is actively reaching out to ISU to determine how the university and student body are moving forward amid the incident.

This is a developing story. Local News 8 will provide additional updates as we learn new information.