Effective August 20, 2026: The George Mason Zoom web homepage will be updated and will have a new look. Zoom is making this change to provide a unified, intuitive interface to help users access key features faster and manage settings more efficiently.
See New Zoom Web Experience – August 2026 for a snapshot of the biggest changes users will see or https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0084872 for full details of what is changing
Information Technology Services (ITS) is modernizing its enterprise systems this summer by transitioning our on‑campus data center infrastructure to Microsoft Azure, a cloud-based platform. This initiative replaces outdated hardware with a more reliable, scalable, and flexible environment that enhances system stability, strengthens disaster recovery capabilities, and supports long-term operational efficiency.
The effort involves transferring several servers that host various George Mason services and applications. To track the migrations, see the Azure Migrations Dashboard (accessible via the George Mason faculty and staff network). This is a live dashboard that will be updated in real-time to reflect the most current maintenance status.
Large-scale technology transitions of this nature often reveal dependencies and workflow variations that are not fully apparent during testing. If a service or application goes down as a result of a migration, it will be listed under ITS Unplanned Outages. To receive immediate notifications regarding ITS outages, sign up for ITS Alerts.
We appreciate the patience and partnership of the university community as we complete this stabilization effort and ensure all business processes are functioning as expected. If you encounter an issue that may be related to this migration, please contact ITS Support anytime at 703-993-8870, or via live chat.
This morning, Thursday, July 9, George Mason experienced a university-wide network outage. Information Technology Services (ITS) responded immediately and began working to identify the root cause and restore service as quickly as possible. As of 11 a.m., all services have been restored.
ITS will continue to closely monitor systems for any subsequent issues. We apologize for the disruption this issue caused and appreciate your patience as we work to ensure reliable technology services for the university community.
If you need IT assistance, ITS Support is available 24/7 at 703-993-8870 or its.gmu.edu/chat.
Instructure, the creators of Canvas, announced they have closed last week’s security incident, which caused disruption to Canvas services and a limited user data breach. Instructure has received confirmation of data destruction (shred logs) after reaching an agreement with the cybercriminals to ensure the stolen data will not be released. Full details from Instructure.
Information Technology Service (ITS) has also concluded in its own investigation and confirmed:
ITS continues to carefully monitor all systems. As always, remain vigilant to all suspicious activity and review security best practices.
If you have any additional questions, IT Support is available anytime at 703-993-8870 or https://its.gmu.edu/chat.
Dear Patriots,
Information Technology Services (ITS) is aware that Canvas, George Mason’s Learning Management System, is currently unavailable for all users. This outage is impacting many colleges and universities across the nation.
Instructure, our Canvas hosting partner, is working to resolve this issue as soon as possible. We are aware of the impact on final exams and other end-of semester activities, and we apologize for the inconvenience this outage is causing as we await further information from Instructure.
For updates regarding this outage, see https://status.instructure.com/incidents/m88d7ymwpzpy.
If you have any additional questions, IT Support is available anytime at 703-993-8870 or https://its.gmu.edu/chat.
Dear Patriots,
George Mason University was recently notified by Instructure, our Learning Management System (LMS) partner for Canvas, of a recent data breach that has affected multiple institutions, including George Mason University. Based on the information available at this time, Instructure has found no indication that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were compromised.
To clarify, the only personal data that Instructure has indicated so far may have been exposed includes student names, email addresses, and G numbers.
No other George Mason systems have been impacted by this breach.
Instructure is still investigating the incident. If Instructure provides updates that require user action, Information Technology Services (ITS) will notify the George Mason community promptly.
For additional details on this security incident, please see:
We take the privacy and security of our students, faculty, and staff very seriously. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact ITS Support anytime at 703-993-8870 or via live chat.
