University of Nottingham student and alumni data accessed in hack by cybercriminal group

Hackers from a well known cybercriminal group have accessed personal student data held by the University of Nottingham.

The Russell Group university said on Wednesday that a "significant" amount of data from its student record system was breached, possibly including financial information.

It is understood the university identified the unauthorised activity on its campus solutions system on Tuesday.

The University of Nottingham say that student and alumni data has been compromised.

They also say they have established a dedicated support line for those impacted.

A university 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.”

The university said in an email to students that contact information, course information and financial information may have been accessed.

The university urged people to monitor their accounts for anything suspicious and update any passwords for accounts that share credentials with the university systems.

It apologised "sincerely" for any anxiety caused by the situation and said it immediately took affected systems offline before launching an investigation.

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