The Open University System Status

Information about the availability of The Open University’s core IT systems


If you think there is a major system issue that is not listed here, please contact your usual OU helpdesk.



Active Incident
Information about the availability of The Open University’s core IT systems
OpenLearn & OpenLearn Create Now AvailableOperational

Incident Status

Operational

Components

OpenLearn, Other services


October 21, 2026 8:38PM BST
MONITORING

Learning systems have been restored after our preventative action to take them offline following warnings from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) about a worldwide critical security issue (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/critical-security-issue-affecting-php) issued to UK organisations such as ourselves. Our staff are working hard to restore systems and the following are now operational: 1. Module websites, which also includes access to online tutorials. 2. OpenLearn and OpenLearn Create. Our staff are continuing to work throughout the night to restore systems and we will provide another update by 08:00 tomorrow (Thursday 22 October 2026). We apologise for any inconvenience caused but we must act decisively in these situations to protect students, staff and OU systems.

October 21, 2026 7:03PM BST
IDENTIFIED

Earlier today, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued advice to UK organisations warning of a worldwide critical security issue (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/critical-security-issue-affecting-php). Upon receiving the alert, The Open University (the OU) has taken the preventative measure to take several of our learning systems offline to safeguard students and staff from this identified threat. Learning systems include all module websites, online tutorials, the HelpCentre, OpenLearn and OpenlearnCreate. Unfortunately, this means staff and students are not currently able to access our learning systems and any tutorials that were due to take place this evening (Wednesday 21 October 2026) will be rescheduled. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused but we must act decisively in these situations to protect students and staff and OU systems. Like other organisations, we must wait for third-party security fixes to be put in place before we can restore our learning systems. Staff will be working throughout the night to try and restore our learning systems and we will update further at 8am (Thursday 22 October 2026).
Help Centre UnavailableService Disruption

Incident Status

Service Disruption

Components

Help Centre website, Other services


October 22, 2026 8:13AM BST
IDENTIFIED

Yesterday, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued advice to UK organisations warning of a worldwide critical security issue (ncsc.gov.uk/news/critical-security-issue-affecting-php). Upon receiving the alert, The Open University (the OU) has taken the preventative measure to take several of our systems offline to safeguard students and staff from this identified threat. Most core learning systems, such as module websites and OpenLearn, are now back online, but work continues. The focus now is on upgrading the Help Centre and various specialist websites. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused but we must act decisively in these situations to protect students and staff and OU systems.

October 21, 2026 7:00PM BST
IDENTIFIED

Earlier today, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued advice to UK organisations warning of a worldwide critical security issue (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/critical-security-issue-affecting-php). Upon receiving the alert, The Open University (the OU) has taken the preventative measure to take several of our learning systems offline to safeguard students and staff from this identified threat. This includes the HelpCentre. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused but we must act decisively in these situations to protect students and staff and OU systems. Like other organisations, we must wait for third-party security fixes to be put in place before we can restore our learning systems. Staff will be working throughout the night to try and restore our learning systems and we will update further at 8am (Thursday 22 October 2026).
Learning Systems Now AvailableOperational

Incident Status

Operational

Components

Major Incident, Module websites, Other services


October 21, 2026 8:37PM BST
MONITORING

Learning systems have been restored after our preventative action to take them offline following warnings from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) about a worldwide critical security issue (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/critical-security-issue-affecting-php) issued to UK organisations such as ourselves. Our staff are working hard to restore systems and the following are now operational: 1. Module websites, which also includes access to online tutorials. 2. OpenLearn and OpenLearn Create. Our staff are continuing to work throughout the night to restore systems and we will provide another update by 08:00 tomorrow (Thursday 22 October 2026). We apologise for any inconvenience caused but we must act decisively in these situations to protect students, staff and OU systems.

October 21, 2026 4:22PM BST
IDENTIFIED

Earlier today, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued advice to UK organisations warning of a worldwide critical security issue (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/critical-security-issue-affecting-php). Upon receiving the alert, The Open University (the OU) has taken the preventative measure to take several of our learning systems offline to safeguard students and staff from this identified threat. Learning systems include all module websites, online tutorials, the HelpCentre, OpenLearn and OpenlearnCreate. Unfortunately, this means staff and students are not currently able to access our learning systems and any tutorials that were due to take place this evening (Wednesday 21 October 2026) will be rescheduled. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused but we must act decisively in these situations to protect students and staff and OU systems. Like other organisations, we must wait for third-party security fixes to be put in place before we can restore our learning systems. Staff will be working throughout the night to try and restore our learning systems and we will update further at 8am (Thursday 22 October 2026) .

Major Incident

Operational

Apprenticeship Portal

Operational

Broadcast Partnerships (BBC) website

Operational

Ceremony booking

Operational

Dashboard

Operational

eTMA submission system

Operational

External Network

Operational

Help Centre website

Service Disruption

iCMA access

Operational

Library Services

Operational

Module websites

Operational

Online rooms

Operational

OpenLearn

Operational

Registration websites

Operational

StudentHome

Operational

Telephone service

Operational

TutorHome

Operational

Tutorial booking system

Operational

Other services

Service Disruption

Protection against Distributed Denial-of-Service attacks

Operational

Test

Operational

The Open University

Accessibility Statement