One of Australia’s major universities has suffered a data breach, with the password information of thousands of staff and students exposed.<\/p>\n
The University of WA (UWA) confirmed it was investigating a cybersecurity incident on Saturday night, which involved unauthorised access of password information.<\/p>\n
After detecting the breach, UWA locked staff and students out of the system and urged people to change their passwords.<\/p>\n
UWA chief information officer Fiona Bishop said a critical incident management team was activated to begin “countermeasures”.<\/p>\n
“Our IT and many teams worked tirelessly overnight on Saturday and through the weekend to lock and reset all students’, staff and visitor passwords,” she told ABC Radio Perth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fiona Bishop said UWA would continue to work on its cybersecurity measures. (ABC News: Lily Kristanto)<\/p>\n
Ms Bishop said there was no evidence to suggest any information aside from passwords had been accessed and the investigation would continue.<\/p>\n
However, she said the breach was like “following footprints in the sand.”<\/p>\n
“We’ve already moved on to recovery and investigation,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Bishop said she was “exceptionally pleased” with the responsiveness of the university’s IT teams and digital experts.<\/p>\n
“We’re working feverishly to ensure everyone can log on, staff and students have [been] provided a three-day extension to student assessments,” she said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A notice posted to the UWA website following the data breach. (ABC News: Gian De Poloni)<\/p>\n
Ms Bishop said the university had no communication from anyone who might have been responsible for the breach and “no indication it was ransomware”.<\/p>\n
She said UWA would continue to work on its cybersecurity measures.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UWA is located in the inner Perth suburb of Crawley. (ABC News: Lily Kristanto)<\/p>\n
“Universities are powerhouses of information and learning and the sector as a whole is a cyber target, which is only increasing as they become more digital and modernised,” Ms Bishop said.<\/p>\n
“The sector is continuously under attack.”<\/p>\n
The university did not expect interruptions to teaching and classes could proceed as planned.<\/p>\n
“We do know that people will continue to need support in resetting their password and so we will continue to man that effort over the course of the next couple of days,” Ms Bishop said.<\/p>\n
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