In 2023, the University of Manchester’s systems were accessed by an unauthorised party and data was likely to have been copied. This page explains how the data breach happened, the facts of the case, and the consequences for the affected victims.
Pupils, parents and staff at the University of Manchester were potentially at risk following a cyberattack.
NHS patient data was also said to be compromised in the cyber attack. The information, which was gathered for research purposes, included records of major trauma patients across the country and people treated after terror attacks.
Those affected by the University of Manchester data breach were informed as soon as the university was able to.
The University of Manchester has experienced a cyber security incident after detecting unauthorised activity on its network.
This hasn’t been confirmed. A university spokesman did say that data is likely to have been copied.
According to media reports, the NHS details of more than a million patients were compromised in the cyberattack.
In a statement, a university spokesman said:
“Regrettably, I have to share with you the news that the university is the victim of a cyber incident.
“It has been confirmed that some of our systems have been accessed by an unauthorised party and data have likely been copied.
“Our in-house experts and established expert external support are working around the clock to resolve this incident. We are working to understand what data have been accessed and will update you as more information becomes available.
“As you would expect, we are also working with the relevant authorities, including the Information Commissioner’s Office, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the National Crime Agency and other regulatory bodies.
“We know this will cause concern to members of our community and we are very sorry for this.
“Our priority is to resolve this issue and provide information to those affected as soon as we are able to, and we are focusing all available resources.
“You should be vigilant to any suspicious phishing emails.”
If you are affected by the data breach, the University of Manchester should have contacted you to let you know.
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