Hacked during finals weeks: ISU students locked out of Canvas following cybersecurity incident

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) — Thousands of Idaho State University students have lost access to the school's Canvas system 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 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. 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.