FGCU locked out of Canvas as hack impacts thousands of institutions, organizations

FORT MYERS, Fla. —

Florida Gulf Coast University confirmed that it has been affected by the hack of Instructure, the global educational technology company behind Canvas.

According to the university, more than 8,000 educational institutions and organizations use Canvas and are impacted.

Hackers have taken control of the login page of Canvas and everyone is locked out of the platform. FGCU said if you need to reach out to an instructor, contact them through the fgcu.edu email.

Additionally, the university is working to determine if any student, faculty or staff information was stolen, but they have confirmed the breach is not due to FGCU's security system. Compromised information could include names, emails, addresses, student and/or employee identification numbers and private messages.

The university shared its full statement which can be read below:

"Dear Eagles,

"Instructure, a global educational technology company, recently experienced a cyber security incident that gave unauthorized access to private client data. FGCU is among more than 8,000 educational institutions and organizations that use Canvas, a learning management platform that is operated by Instructure. The incident also impacted private industries such as Cisco, Apple and more.

"The situation has escalated, and we are aware that the hackers have taken control of the login page of Canvas. All clients, including FGCU, are locked out of the platform. If you need to communicate with an instructor, please contact them via fgcu.edu email.

"As the Instructure vendor works to restore service to its clients, FGCU is working to determine whether any student, faculty or staff information was stolen. We have already confirmed the breach is not due to vulnerabilities in the FGCU security system.

"According to reports, the compromised information could include names, emails, home addresses and student and/or employee identification numbers, as well as private messages stored in the Canvas platform.

"We will also continue to share updates as additional information becomes available.

"Thank you,

"John Dove | Senior Associate Vice President

"Administrative Services & Finance"

Count on Gulf Coast News to keep you updated.

DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.