Canvas Incident Updates

Canvas Incident Updates

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

 

We are pleased to share an update to improve student account access and support. Starting today, our 24/7 student support line can assist students with multifactor authentication (MFA) setups and resets directly. Students who are locked out of their accounts or are experiencing MFA issues can now receive help any time, day, or night.

 

For students: If you need assistance with MFA, please contact the 24/7 support line at 714‑480‑7407. (This line will be helping all students. Please disregard the initial message referring to SAC Continuing Education Students only)

 

For faculty and staff: If a student contacts you with an MFA issue, please direct them first to the 24/7 support line above. If additional assistance is needed after that, students may then be referred to the ITS Helpdesk at 714‑564‑4357, ext. 0

 

This enhancement is part of our ongoing effort to reduce access delays and better support students while maintaining strong security practices.

Thank you for your continued support and understanding.​​

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

 

We are pleased to share that significant progress has been made in assisting students with Canvas access and multi‑factor authentication (MFA) setup. Our ITS team has worked diligently over the past several days to reduce the number of outstanding requests, and we are now in a strong position to provide support more quickly and efficiently.

 

If you are still experiencing issues accessing Canvas or need help with MFA or your password, we encourage you to reach out to ITS today (714‑564‑4357, ext. 0). We currently have the capacity to assist you, and our team is actively working through the remaining requests and returning calls.

 

Faculty are encouraged to refer students to ITS support (714‑564‑4357, ext. 0) if they are still having login or MFA-related challenges. Prompt engagement will help us ensure students regain access as quickly as possible.

 

Support options remain:

  • Student, faculty, and staff support: 714‑564‑HELP (4357), ext. 0
  • 24/7 student technology support: 714‑480‑7407
  • Canvas‑specific issues (not related to login or MFA): 844‑629‑6834 (For students and faculty)

 

We appreciate your continued patience and cooperation, and I am grateful to our ITS staff and campus community for working together to support students during this critical time.​​

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

 

To better support our community during the current high volume of requests, Information Technology Services (ITS) will have extended support coverage through 9:00 p.m. today.

We are continuing to increase capacity and appreciate your patience as we work to assist everyone as quickly as possible.

 

If you need assistance, please use the following support options:

 

  • Student, faculty and staff support: 714‑564‑HELP (4357), ext. 0 (Available until 9pm tonight)
  • 24/7 student technology support: 714‑480‑7407

 

Thank you for your understanding as we continue working to support access to Canvas and related services.

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

 

As Canvas services have been restored, our Helpdesk is experiencing a significantly higher than normal volume of support requests, particularly from students who need assistance with password resets and multi‑factor authentication (MFA).

We want to assure you that ITS is taking immediate steps to support our community. We are actively increasing support capacity and streamlining our workflow in coordination with our 24/7 support partner to assist as many people as quickly as possible. While these efforts ramp up, you may experience longer wait times than usual. We appreciate your patience during this period.

 

For students, using a text message as a backup verification method for MFA is the simplest way to get started with MFA:

MFA w​ith Text

 

You can also find additional guidance by clicking below:

MFA Guide f​or students

 

As a reminder, the current support options are:

  • Student, faculty and staff support: 714‑564‑HELP (4357), ext. 0
  • 24/7 student technology support: 714‑480‑7407 (This line will be helping all students. Please disregard the initial message referring to SAC Continuing Education Students only)
  • Canvas‑specific issues (not related to login or MFA): 844‑629‑6834

 

Our priority remains supporting students, faculty, and staff and ensuring continued access to our systems. We will continue adjusting resources as needed and will share updates if support options or procedures change.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and cooperation.​

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

 

These are the support options available this weekend

 

For Faculty and staff:      714 564 HELP (4357), ext. 0* (Open till 4pm today)

For Students (24/7):        714-480-7407 (This line will be helping all students. Please disregard the initial message referring to SAC Continuing Education Students only)

For Canvas specific issues for either faculty or students (No login or MFA related issues) 844-629-6834 (24/7).

 

For Faculty, there are helpful resources on the College Distance Education web pages:

 

Santa Ana College Distance Education

https://www.sac.edu/de

 

 

Santiago Canyon College Distance Education

https://www.sccollege.edu/de​

Dear students, faculty, and staff,
 
We are pleased to share that Canvas is back online and available for use.
Access has been re enabled following the implementation of additional security protections recommended by statewide guidance.
 
As a reminder:
• Multi factor authentication (MFA) is now required to access Canvas.
• If you have not already done so, please ensure your account is enrolled in MFA so you can log in successfully. Using a text message as a backup verification method is the simplest way to get started:
 
We appreciate your patience and flexibility during this disruption and recognize the impact it has had on teaching and learning. Thank you to faculty and staff for your efforts to maintain instructional continuity, and to students for your understanding as services were restored safely.
 
If you experience any issues accessing Canvas or need assistance, please contact the ITS Help Desk:
 
For Faculty and staff:                                714 564 HELP (4357), ext. 0*
For 24/7 Student Technology Support: 714-480-7407 (This line will be helping all students. Please disregard the initial message referring to SAC Continuing Education Students only)
 

Dear students, faculty, and staff,​
 
ITS has made great progress performing the technical adjustments recommended by the State Chancellor’s Office and the CCC Security Center. At this point, we anticipate Canvas being back online within one to two hours.
 
Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Dear students, faculty, and staff,
 
As part of the steps recommended by the State Chancellor’s Office and the California Community Colleges Security Center, multifactor authentication (MFA) will be required before access to the Canvas system is re-established.
 
Multifactor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of protection by requiring at least two forms of verification to confirm your identity. These typically include:
1. Your password, and
2. An additional verification method, such as a text message, phone call, mobile app notification, or hardware token.
 
Many of you may already be using MFA when accessing Office 365 or other district applications. If so, no further action is needed. You will be ready to access Canvas once it comes back online.
 
If you are not currently using MFA, or are unsure whether it is set up, we strongly recommend enrolling now so your account is ready to access Canvas when service is restored.
 
To enroll in MFA, please follow the instructions at the link below. Using a text message as a backup verification method is the simplest way to get started: 
 
If you need assistance or encounter any issues, please contact the ITS Help Desk:
For Faculty and staff:                                714 564 HELP (4357), ext. 0*
For 24/7 Student Technology Support:  714-480-7407 (This line will be helping all students. Please disregard the initial message referring to SAC Continuing Education Students only)

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

The District’s Information Technology Services department continues to work on performing the technical adjustments recommended by the State Chancellor’s Office and the CCC Security Center. At this point, we anticipate at least 12 hours worth of work before system access can be restored. Once Canvas is up and running, there is additional work that will need to be done to finish our efforts. We will provide an additional update by 5 p.m. 

Dear students, faculty, and staff,
 
The State Chancellor’s Office and the CCC Security Center consider it reasonable for districts to re enable access to Canvas at this time, provided that specific technical adjustments are done before system access is restored.
 
The District’s Information Technology Services department is working on performing these steps as soon as possible and targeting restoring full system access to Canvas.
 
We will provide an additional update with an ETA by 3 p.m. 

​Instructure is reporting that Canvas services appear to be back online, but the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the CCC Security Center continue to advise colleges to limit access to Canvas until Instructure can formally confirm that students and employees are no longer at risk.
 
In accordance with statewide guidance, RSCCD will continue to prevent logon access to Canvas until updated guidance is provided by the State Chancellor’s Office. RSCCD is asking students and employees not to attempt to log in to Canvas until further notice.
 
Additional updates and guidance will be shared with the RSCCD community as more information becomes available.

Instructure is reporting that Canvas system access is beginning to be restored. The California Community College's Chancellor’s Office, in collaboration with the CCC Security Center​ is working directly with Instructure to ensure that the system is fully secure. In accordance with statewide guidance, RSCCD will prevent logon access to Canvas until further guidance is provided by the State's Chancellor’s Office​.

Canvas Outage – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Canvas is currently unavailable due to an ongoing cybersecurity‑related incident involving Instructure, the company that provides the Canvas learning management system used by colleges and universities nationwide. As part of its security response and investigation, Instructure has temporarily placed Canvas into maintenance mode.

At this time, there is no indication that RSCCD systems outside of Canvas have been impacted. This is a vendor‑level issue affecting institutions that use Canvas and is not a district/college‑specific incident.

Based on statewide provided information, Instructure placed Canvas into maintenance mode as part of its response to the cybersecurity incident. This allows Instructure to secure the environment, investigate the issue, and validate system integrity before restoring access.

Yes. According to statewide provided information, Instructure is following standard cybersecurity protocols, including securing systems, investigating the incident, and validating data integrity prior to restoring service.

Based on information currently shared by Instructure and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, potentially affected data may include:

  • Names
  • Email addresses
  • Student ID numbers (not Social Security numbers)
  • Messages within Canvas

At this time, there is no evidence that passwords, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or financial information were compromised.

 

Yes. If you attempted to log in to Canvas after 12:00 p.m. on May 7, RSCCD strongly recommends resetting your password in abundance of caution.

Password reset:
https://rsccd.edu/password 

 

District email systems remain operational. However, students and employees should remain alert for phishing or suspicious communications. Be especially cautious of messages that request:

Passwords or login credentials
Urgent or threatening action
Sensitive personal information
Unknown links or attachments

 

At this time, Instructure has not provided a confirmed restoration timeline. As is common during active cybersecurity investigations, timelines may change as systems are secured and validated.

 

 

No. While Canvas remains in maintenance mode, Canvas hosted course content and materials are temporarily unavailable.

The California State Chancellor's Office's Security Center has established a page to update on the status of this issue:

Canvas Incident Report

 

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

Canvas remains down systemwide. The State Chancellor's Office notified us that Instructure, the vendor that provides the Canvas learning management system, has identified an additional security issue and is actively working to resolve it. There is no estimated time for resolution at this point.

For the latest updates, important notices, and support information, please visit Canvas Updates.

​Updates will continue to be posted on the link above as information becomes available. Please bookmark this resource.

Dear students, faculty, and staff,

Canvas is currently unavailable. This service interruption appears to be associated with ongoing security activity previously reported by Instructure, the vendor that provides the Canvas learning management system. Out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that you do not attempt to log in to Canvas at this time. If you attempted to log in to Canvas today after 12 noon, we recommend resetting your password as a precaution by visiting:
https://rsccd.edu/password ​

 

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the ITS Help Desk at 714‑564‑HELP (4357).

We will share additional updates as more information becomes available.