Update: 1pm UK BST, 9th May 2026
Since the last update, we have had positive engagement with Instructure who are working globally to provide assurances to HE providers on the security of the Canvas system.
We are meeting with Instructure at 02:00 UK BST on Monday 11th May 2026 to determine whether sufficient assurance has been provided to allow us to enable Canvas access again. We expect to be able to provide an update to students via the website early on Monday.
There will be no access to Canvas until this meeting has taken place.
How we are supporting students
Students who are preparing to sit SQE2 in May 2026 have been contacted directly to provide access to resources – if you have not received this, please contact canvasdata@collegalpractice.com
Students with current or continued access to SLK have been contacted to provide access to SLK materials – if you have not received this, please contact canvasdata@collegalpractice.com
We are aware that some students may not have received the original notification of the data breach as this may have gone into their junk folders. To ensure that all students are fully informed, we have copied the original notification into the updates page.
Next update due by 09:30 UK BST, 11th May 2026
Update: 4pm UK BST, 8th May 2026
We have not had any further reassurance from Instructure, as such we do not expect the situation to change in the next 48 hours.
If you are still logged into Canvas, please log out of applications or browsers.
Next update due by 4pm UK BST, 9th May 2026
Update: 9.30am UK BST, 8th May 2026
Canvas is currently unavailable to staff and students due to ongoing investigations following a recent cyber security incident. We recognise that this will greatly impact on students’ learning today and apologise for the impact that this is having on your studies. This is due to a cyber security incident affecting Instructure, the supplier of Canvas. This incident is something that is affecting organisations globally. We are communicating with Instructure to understand this further. Our IT team are closely monitoring the incident, which is outside of our control. In the meantime, if you have any scheduled learning today it will not be taking place. We will update you on this as soon as possible. Please rest assured that the College team will do everything in our control to address this situation. We will share further updates as soon as they are available – thank you for your patience.
Notification sent to students 8th May 2026
Subject: Canvas data security incident
Dear Student,
You are receiving this email as a current or former College of Legal Practice user of Canvas.
There is an ongoing global data security incident affecting Canvas, the learning management system that The College of Legal Practice uses to deliver our courses and programmes.
Canvas is one of the biggest and most recognised learning management systems operated by Instructure, a third-party provider used by universities and education organisations worldwide.
Instructure has advised us of two data breaches within the last week within its systems and some user data held within Canvas may have been impacted.
We have not received confirmation that any of your data held in our Canvas system has been impacted and are awaiting further information from Instructure. The data in Canvas may include your name and email address, details of assessments & grades, IP addresses as well as messages exchanged within the Canvas inbox. If you have uploaded a photo or biography etc to personalise your Canvas profile, this information may also be included. Please be assured that we do not store passwords, application data, ID documents or any financial information in Canvas.
We understand that Instructure are reviewing their security settings and are actively monitoring the incidents. They have told us that they have engaged external forensic specialists and implemented additional security controls and will notify us of any evidence that our students’ data in Canvas could be compromised.
What does it mean for you?
As of 8th May 2026, no College users have access to Canvas.
Access to Canvas has been suspended as a precautionary measure until the College receives further assurances from Instructure as to the security of our user data.
If you are a current student, your course is not available on Canvas and live learning will be rescheduled.
We will provide regular updates via email and our website (The College of Legal Practice) in the coming days, but we do not expect the situation to change in the next 48 hours.
What can you do practically?
No immediate urgent action is required, but as a general precaution, please:
- Be mindful of unexpected messages (phishing emails) requesting personal details
- Avoid clicking links or opening attachments from unknown senders
- Report any concerning emails to canvasdata@collegalpractice.com
If you need to contact us directly about this matter, please email canvasdata@collegalpractice.com
Kind regards,
DR GILES PROCTOR
Chief Executive Officer
The College of Legal Practice
Canvasdata@collegalpractice.com