On April 14, the University of Hertfordshire experienced a cyberattack which impacted all systems.
The attack on the university’s systems disabled its Wi-Fi network, student record portal and email system. In addition, students also reported being unable to access Office 365 services, including its main collaboration platform MS Teams, as well as Canvas and Zoom. All online teaching was cancelled the day after the attack; however, students were reassured that they would not be at a disadvantage as a result of the event.
A statement on the university’s website said: “There is currently no evidence to suggest that any data has been taken and we are continuing work to resolve the situation”.
In response to the incident Jamie Akhtar, CEO and Co-Founder of CyberSmart, said: “Education is one of the most vulnerable and least protected industries. In May 2020, Microsoft Security Intelligence found that 61 percent of nearly 7.7 million enterprise malware encounters came from those in the education sector, making it the most affected industry for cyberattack.
“It’s no surprise that the UK government made Cyber Essentials, its security certification scheme that covers the fundamentals of cyberhygiene, a requirement for educational institutions working with the Educational and Skills Funding Agency. Following the fundamental rules of cyberhygiene like strong password protection, up-to-date software and enabled firewalls can go a long way in preventing incidents like these.”
