The system of australias top universities has been hacked năm 2024

Australian Catholic University (ACU) has confessed that a data breach occurred on its systems as a result of a phishing attack. ACU said it discovered the breach on 22 May but did not say when the attack happened.

"The data breach originated from a phishing attack: An email pretending to be from ACU tricking users into clicking on a link or opening an attachment and then entering credentials into a fake ACU login page," Acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Stephen Weller said in a blog post on Monday.

"In a very small number of cases, staff login credentials were obtained successfully via the phishing email and were used to access the email accounts, calendars, and bank account details of affected staff members."

The university said it had reset the impacted user's accounts, contacted its bank, and notified the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

ACU added that it takes "very seriously our responsibilities to manage the security of data and the security of our IT systems".

"We also recognise the importance of cybersecurity awareness for students and staff and are reviewing ACU's cybersecurity awareness programs," Weller added.

Need to disclose a breach? Read this: Notifiable Data Breaches scheme: Getting ready to disclose a data breach in Australia

Earlier this month, Australian National University (ANU) disclosed a breach that began late last year.

"We believe there was unauthorised access to significant amounts of personal staff, student, and visitor data extending back 19 years," Vice Chancellor Brian Schmidt wrote.

"Depending on the information you have provided to the university, this may include names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, personal email addresses and emergency contact details, tax file numbers, payroll information, bank account details, and passport details. Student academic records were also accessed."

ANU said it believed information was only copied, not altered.

In July last year, ANU was hit with an attack where the university said no staff, student, or research information had been taken.

Australia's top-ranked university said hackers breached its cyber defences late last year to obtain sensitive data of students, including bank account numbers and passport details, going back nearly two decades.

SYDNEY - Australia's top-ranked university said on Tuesday hackers breached its cyber defences late last year to obtain sensitive data of students, including bank account numbers and passport details, going back nearly two decades.

The Australian National University (ANU) said the breach was carried out by "a sophisticated operator", without elaborating.

An earlier cyber attack, disclosed by ANU in July last year, had failed to gather sensitive information. Media reports at that time had cited sources saying that the hacking originated in China.

According to World University Rankings, ANU is Australia's best university and many of its graduates go onto to hold senior government positions, magnifying security sensitivities over the data breach.

"National community agencies are recruiting directly out of ANU," said Fergus Hanson, head of the International Cyber Policy Centre at think-tank the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

"To have information around particular people who are working in different departments...that would be very useful."

China has consistently denied being involved in any hacking attacks and its embassy in Australia, as well as the foreign ministry in Beijing, did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment.

Despite Chinese denials, Australia has cited similar incidents as evidence that China is meddling in its domestic affairs.

A top Australian university with close ties to the country's government and security services on Tuesday said it had been the victim of a vast hack by a "sophisticated operator" who gained access to 19 years of sensitive data.

In a message to staff and students, the Australian National University did not say who was believed to be behind the cyber intrusion, which is thought to have started in late 2018.

But vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt said the data accessed included "names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, personal email addresses and emergency contact details, tax file numbers, payroll information, bank account details, and passport details."

The hack also breached student academic records.

"In late 2018, a sophisticated operator accessed our systems illegally. We detected the breach two weeks ago," Schmidt said.

"We're working closely with Australian government security agencies and industry security partners to investigate further."

"The University has taken immediate precautions to further strengthen our IT security and is working continuously to build on these precautions to reduce the risk of future intrusion."

The Canberra-based institution is backed by the federal government and is one of Australia's foremost research and teaching universities.

It started as a research institution after World War II, but today also teaches tens of thousands of students each year, including former prime ministers, cabinet officials and civil servants.

This is just the latest in a series of hacks targeting the Australian establishment.

Earlier this year, the Australian parliament reported that its computer network and some political parties had been compromised.

The breach was blamed on a "sophisticated state actor" with experts pointing fingers toward Beijing.

© 2019 AFP

Citation: Top Australian university reports vast, 'sophisticated' hack (2019, June 4) retrieved 29 February 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2019-06-australian-university-vast-sophisticated-hack.html

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