A breach at Western Sydney University exposed student data

Western Sydney University (WSU) disseminated a notification message among its students and academic staff warning them about a data breach incident caused by threat actors in its Microsoft 365 and Sharepoint environments.

Western Sydney University published a notice on its website earlier this week notifying and warning everyone that hackers had infiltrated its MS Office 365 environment, including email accounts and SharePoint files.

Based on reports, the school’s investigation revealed that the earliest known unauthorised access to the University’s Office 365 environment happened in May last year and included access to some email accounts and SharePoint files. Additionally, the investigations indicate that the University’s Solar Car Laboratory infrastructure may have been used as part of the alleged breach.

The investigation also confirmed that the impacted individuals could reach about 7,500. On the other hand, the academic institution immediately deployed notifications through email or phone for every affected individual.

However, these findings may not be the final figure, as the University noted that its investigations are still ongoing.

 

Western Sydney University assured everyone that the attack did not involve any data encryption.

 

Western Sydney University has not provided various details regarding the nature of the security breach. Still, it does not appear to involve system encryption or extortion based on threats to expose stolen information.

Additionally, this affected entity insisted that the issue is unlikely to delay classrooms, exams, registrations, or research programs because it has not compromised the University’s fundamental activities.

The University has assessed the security measures implemented following the compromise to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. The NSW Supreme Court has also granted it an injunction to restrict the publication of any material accessed or stolen during the attack.

Researchers stated that threat actors commonly ignore injunctions, but this action could most likely prevent the media or other outlets from disclosing any stolen information they received. No ransomware or extortion groups have claimed responsibility for the attack on WSU, and the investigation has yet to attribute the attack to any known hacking group.

Affected students and personnel should contact a special phone line provided by the University and be updated with its page for new updates. Lastly, all potentially affected individuals should be cautious with unsolicited communications from now on, as the threat actors could use the exposed information to execute other cybercriminal activities.