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QUT disclosed a cyberattack on January 1st , 2023 . Picture : David Clark / NewsCorp .
Cyber alert
QUT confirms details of cyber breach .
By Eleanor Campbell
Thousands of staff at the University of Queensland had their personal information stolen in a ransomware attack last month .
Around 2,500 current and former faculty members , including 67 students , had personal data stolen after hackers targeted a single storage drive in late December .
This caused all of the university ’ s IT systems to be shut down after ransomware notes threatening to publish “ critical data ” came through campus printers .
In a written statement , QUT vice-chancellor Margaret Shiel said stolen data included personal information that could “ assist in identity theft .”
“ We are obviously concerned that the attack accessed stored document files and QUT is taking all necessary actions to support those affected to prevent further illegal activity ,” she said .
“ We have , and will continue to , directly communicate with each of the individuals , offering support through access to independent identity protection and services ,” she said .
QUT , which is the second-largest university in Queensland , reopened its campuses to staff and students on January 3 .
As of mid-January , its website , Cisco-based VPN and online support and learning systems , including Blackboard , continue to be affected
Professor Shiel said QUT will continue to work with state police and the Australian Cyber Security Centre .
“ This is a timely reminder of the need for ongoing vigilance in relation to unauthorised cyber activity ,” she said .
This is a timely reminder of the need for ongoing vigilance .
Australia ’ s higher education sector has seen a wave of cyber-attacks in recent years .
In July 2022 , the account of a staff member at Melbourne ’ s Deakin University was hacked and used to unlock the private details of 46,980 past and current students .
In 2019 , The Australian National University fell victim to a highly sophisticated cyber-attack in which hackers accessed the sensitive information of over 200,000 students .
According to data from the Australian Cyber Security Centre , over 6.2 per cent of cyber security incidents during 2021-22 were reported by education and training providers . ■
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