The University of Manchester has suffered a cyber incident in which systems have been accessed by an unauthorised party who has likely stolen data. Credit: Skorzewiak/Shutterstock The UK’s University of Manchester has suffered a cyber incident in which systems have been accessed by an unauthorised party, it said in a statement. It is likely that data has been copied, whilst in-house and external experts are working to resolve the incident, the University said. It has notified and is working with relevant authorities including the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and the National Crime Agency (NCA).There have been no specific details released about the type of incident at the time of writing, but the fact that the University has confirmed that systems have been accessed and that data has likely been copied, a ransomware attack may be the cause.The current University of Manchester was formed in 2004 and is the largest single-site university in the UK. It was estimated to have more than 46,000 students last year.University urges vigilance about suspicious phishing emails“We know this will cause concern to members of our community and we are very sorry for this,” said Patrick Hackett, registrar, secretary, and COO, University of Manchester. “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. We will continue to provide updates when we have further information to share.” Hackett called for vigilance around any suspicious phishing emails that may be received in the wake of the incident, citing NCSC guidance on how to protect against the impacts of data breaches and phishing.Education sector a prime target for cyberattacksThe education sector is a prime target for cyberattacks globally. In January, it was revealed that more than a dozen schools in the UK suffered a cyberattack which led to highly confidential documents being leaked online by cybercriminals. Meanwhile, notorious cybercrime groups such as Vice Society have targeted US colleges and universities in recent ransomware campaigns. Meanwhile, Israel’s Technion University suffered a ransomware attack by a new group calling itself DarkBit which forced it to proactively block all communication networks. A New South Wales Audit Office report revealed the financial losses of Australian universities following cyberattacks suffered in 2022. Related content news Okta confirms recent hack affected all customers within the affected system Contrary to its earlier analysis, Okta has confirmed that all of its customer support system users are affected by the recent security incident. By Shweta Sharma Nov 30, 2023 3 mins Data Breach Cyberattacks Cybercrime news Top cybersecurity product news of the week New product and service announcements from Wiz, Palo Alto Networks, Sophos, SecureAuth, Kasada, Lacework, Cycode, and more. By CSO staff Nov 30, 2023 17 mins Generative AI Security feature How to maintain a solid cybersecurity posture during a natural disaster Fire, flood, eathquake, hurricane, tornado: natural disasters are becoming more prevalent and they’re a threat to cybersecurity that isn’t always on a company’s radar. Here are some ways to prepare for the worst. By James Careless Nov 30, 2023 8 mins Security Operations Center Security Operations Center Security Operations Center news analysis Attackers could abuse Google's SSO integration with Windows for lateral movement Compromised Windows systems can enable attackers to gain access to Google Workspace and Google Cloud by stealing access tokens and plaintext passwords. By Lucian Constantin Nov 30, 2023 8 mins Multi-factor Authentication Single Sign-on Remote Access Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe