DTU hit by serious cyberattack
Up to 200,000 current and former students, staff, and guests may have been affected. The data includes civil registration numbers (CPR numbers) and other personal information.
Could you be affected?
If you are – or have been – an employee, student, guest, or partner at DTU since 2003, information about you may be included in the leaked data, according to the university.
DTU therefore recommends that you:
- pay particular attention to suspicious emails, text messages, and phone calls, even when the sender appears to know information about you or your connection to DTU
- do not disclose passwords or other confidential information in response to unexpected inquiries
- do not approve unexpected login or authentication requests.
- change passwords for any services where you have reused your DTU password
- consider registering a credit warning on your CPR number through Borger.dk
Source: DTU (Technical University of Denmark)
DTU (Technical University of Denmark) has been hit by a “targeted cyberattack”, resulting in a serious data security breach in the university’s identity and access management system. The hackers may therefore have gained access to data belonging to up to 200,000 current and former users, potentially affecting current and former employees, students, guests and partners. Among the data that may have been accessed are CPR numbers, the Danish civil registration number. This is according to a press release from DTU.
Here, the university states that the attack has been contained, but the university cannot determine exactly what information has been retrieved or exactly how many people have been affected. The case has been reported to the Danish Data Protection Agency and relevant authorities.
University Director Bjarke Bak Christensen makes no secret of the seriousness of the situation:
"This is a serious attack against DTU, and we very much regret the uncertainty it creates for the people whose information may be affected. Our priority has been to determine the full extent of the breach, limit its impact, and ensure that those affected are informed and know what steps to take.”
DTU is notifying affected users directly via e-Boks. However, some users, including guests and partners, cannot be contacted directly by the university, which is why it has issued a press release.
AU IT following developments closely
AU's Information Security Manager Thomas Kaaber told Omnibus that AU IT is following developments at DTU but has no further comment at present.
Just weeks ago, Aarhus University’s Information Security team warned staff and students in a news update that the university is experiencing an increase in the number of AU employees inadvertently installing so-called malware on their computers or mobile devices after visiting entirely legitimate websites. The malware can be used to intercept passwords.
AU states that 700 legitimate websites such as Oxford, Harvard, and Auburn have been compromised. When users visit a compromised website, they are presented with a fake page with messages such as: "Verify that you are human" or "Fix a problem with your browser". Then, employees are asked to execute the following commands: Press Win+R (Windows computer) or Open Terminal (on a Mac). If this happens, you must leave the website immediately, according to AU.
This text is machine translated and post-edited by Mie Skov Jeppesen.