UK-based university confirms data breach in recent cyberattack
London, June 26 (IANS) UK-based the University of Manchester has confirmed that attackers behind a cyberattack revealed in early June had stolen data that is related to some students and alumni.
“Based on our investigations, we believe that a small proportion of data has been copied that relates to some students, and some alumni. We have written directly to those individuals who may have been affected by this,” the university said.
“We understand that this will create concern for some, but we would like to assure our community that our internal and external experts are working around the clock to continue to address this and our investigations are continuing,” it added.
According to BleepingComputer, the university first revealed the attack on June 9, warning that data had been stolen but claiming that it had nothing to do with the MOVEit Transfer data theft attacks.
As reported earlier, the attackers claimed to have stolen 7 TB of confidential data belonging to students and faculty in emails sent to students.
“We would like to inform all students, lecturers, administration, and staff that we have successfully hacked manchester.ac.uk network on June 6, 2023,” the threat actors said in the email.
“We have stolen 7TB of data, including confidential personal information from students and staff, research data, medical data, police reports, drug test results, databases, HR documents, finance documents, and more.”
According to an update to the cyberattack information page, the attackers gained access to a variety of sensitive data, including — names and contact details, university ID numbers, dates of birth and gender, nationality, domicile, and ethnicity, among others.
As part of the investigation, the university said it is working with the Information Commissioner’s Office, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the National Crime Agency, and other regulatory agencies.