QUT has confirmed student and staff data was stolen in hack

QUT have revealed up to 2500 staff and more than 60 students may have had their data stolen in last month’s cyber attack

QUT was targeted by the cyber attack last month.

Student and staff personal information was stolen during a cyber attack on the Queensland University of Technology last month, when on-campus printers spat out threatening ransom notes.

The university on Friday confirmed data of up to 2500 current staff, some former staff and 67 students may have been stolen during the hack on December 22.

QUT vice-chancellor Professor Margaret Sheil said the university had begun contacting staff and students who had been impacted, and that would continue into next week.

“We are obviously concerned that the attack accessed stored document files and QUT is taking all necessary actions to support those affected to prevent further illegal activity,” she said.

“We have, and will continue to, directly communicate with each of the individuals, offering support through access to independent identity protection and services such as IDCARE and Equifax as well as our own wellbeing support.”

Expert forensic analysis on the attack had revealed one storage drive had been compromised, with up to 2500 people affected. The university said it was unaware of any of the data being accessed or exploited as yet by the criminals involved.

Other systems – such as those used for email, teaching, student management, research, and financial and personal management – had not been compromised.

“In addition to our own staff who have been managing this incident, we are also continuing to work with the relevant authorities, including the Australian Cyber Security Centre and Queensland Police Service. This is a timely reminder of the need for ongoing vigilance in relation to unauthorised cyber activity,” Prof Sheil said.

QUT was forced to shut down its IT systems in December as the attack unfolded, with on-campus printers – including the printer of the Vice-Chancellor – spitting out “ransom” notes during the attack.

The notes, claiming to be from “royal ransomware” said “your critical data was not only encrypted but also copied” and “from there it can be published online”.