Cyber criminals access Nottingham University student data

Student data at the University of Nottingham has been accessed by a well-known cyber criminal group.

In an email sent to students, seen by The Nottingham Tab, the university apologised to students and said they believed the criminals accessed data from current students and alumni, including financial and personal information.

The email added that thoes likely behind the major cyber-attack had “previously targeted a number of other organisations.”

Jason Carter, chief governance and risk officer at the university, stated in the email that students should monitor accounts for “suspicious communication” and update their credentials.

It is understood that unauthorised activity was discovered on its Campus Solutions system on Tuesday.

Via Unsplash

After its detection, Carter said the university: “immediately took the affected systems offline to contain the incident and launched a comprehensive investigation,” adding that they are working alongside cyber analysts to contain the systems affected and identify the root cause.

The email further states that they are operating on the precautionary assumption that four categories of information had been accessed:

• Contact information including names, email and postal addresses
• University-related details including course information, student/staff ID
• Financial information
• Personal information including NI (national insurance) numbers and protected characteristics

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Carter informed students that they are “working to verify the exact scope of the data accessed and will provide further updates as our investigation confirms these details.”

A University of Nottingham spokesperson said: “The University of Nottingham has been the victim of a cyber incident and a significant amount of data in our student record system has been accessed by a well-known cybercriminal group.

“We are working with the third party that maintains the platform to lead a forensic investigation. We understand that those affected will have concerns about what this means for their personal data and we will be offering advice and support to our students as we learn more.

“We take the privacy and security of data that we hold seriously, and we have reported this incident to Action Fraud and the Information Commissioner’s Office. The university will continue to provide them with further information as our investigation progresses.”

An Information Commissioner’s Office spokesperson said: “The University of Nottingham reported an incident to us and we are assessing the information provided.”

If you are a University of Nottingham student or alumni who believes they have been impacted by the attack, please call the universities support line on 0115 7486500

Featured image via Unsplash