The university has now suspended its use of Quercus as a “precautionary measure”, following the cyberattack on Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, which runs Quercus, the university wrote in an email sent to students. “At present, there is no evidence to suggest that other University of Toronto systems have been affected. The University is working to ensure continuity for all courses during this disruption,” according to the email.

In the email, the university clarified that students’ sensitive data such as passwords, social insurance number, and financial information are not stored by Quercus, however, “if users shared any of these details in user-to-user communication we cannot confirm the safety of that information.”

Students are advised to reach out directly to their course instructors for questions regarding access to materials and assignments during the suspension. Any other questions may be directed to the student’s registrar’s office.  

Updates from the university can be viewed on the UTogether Community Updates page.