Just days before the first day of school at the University of Texas at San Antonio, students, faculty and staff have little to no access to university accounts and systems after a potential cybersecurity breach was caught over the weekend.
University officials alerted students, faculty and staff of “unauthorized activity”over the weekend that targeted the university’s technology systems. This prompted university officials to cut access to some online services as an ongoing investigation identifies any ongoing threats.
“The activity was detected at the edge of our network, before it reached core systems and University Technology Solutions (UTS), working with expert partners, took immediate action to contain it and protect the campus’ entire technology environment,” states a notice issued on Monday by Andrea Marks, senior executive vice president of enterprise operations and strategy and Michael Schnabel, chief technology officer.
In their statement, Marks and Schnabel said the actions taken were deemed effective and their ongoing investigation has not found evidence of a data breach.
The first day of the fall 2026 academic year at UT San Antonio is on Wednesday, Aug. 19, which is also the last day to pay balances or enroll in payment plans.
The proximity to these deadlines prompted concerns from students and their families who tried to access their accounts over the weekend to make payments, change classes or simply access their class syllabus.
On Monday afternoon, officials stated payment deadlines were extended until Friday, Aug. 21, at 5 p.m., waitlists were being restored, and registration would remain open for the fall 2026 semester.
“We understand how important access to these services is as you prepare for the fall semester,” an update posted at 12:30 p.m. on Monday said. “These adjustments are intended to give you additional time and flexibility while university technology services are restored.”
Phone systems were also down Monday and were expected to be restored later in the day.
The investigation is ongoing and the university will take additional steps to protect its accounts and systems, officials said.
Students, faculty and staff are expected to receive notices and instructions to reset their university account passwords, known university-wide as “passphrases.”
“University Technology Solutions continues to address the technology issue affecting some university systems and services,” an update sent Monday said. “Please wait until you receive that communication before beginning the reset process.”
The San Antonio Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.
This story first appeared in the San Antonio Report.
