BreachPublished 11 Jun 2026

Nottingham University data breach affects over 450,000 students

Source Bleeping Computer

Description

The University of Nottingham confirmed on Wednesday that a hacking group gained access to its student records system in a breach affecting both current students and alums. [...]

Impact

The breach exposed a significant volume of sensitive personal and financial data of current and former students, including identifiers such as passport numbers and detailed academic and payment records. This exposure increases the risk of identity theft, financial fraud, and targeted phishing attacks against affected individuals. The compromise also impacts the university's reputation and may result in regulatory scrutiny and potential penalties under data protection laws.

Defensive guidance

The University of Nottingham is actively investigating the breach with the third-party platform maintainer and has reported the incident to relevant UK authorities. Organizations using Oracle PeopleSoft should monitor vendor advisories for updates regarding the zero-day vulnerabilities exploited by ShinyHunters. Until official guidance is available, reviewing and hardening PeopleSoft configurations and access controls is advisable.

Summary

A cybercriminal group, identified as the ShinyHunters extortion gang, breached the University of Nottingham's student records system, stealing over 40GB of sensitive data affecting approximately 454,600 individuals. The stolen data includes personal identifiers, financial information, and academic records. The attack is part of a broader campaign targeting Oracle PeopleSoft deployments worldwide, leveraging a combination of zero-day and known vulnerabilities. The university is collaborating with the third party managing the platform to conduct a forensic investigation and has notified the UK's Information Commissioner's Office and Action Fraud.

References

bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/nottingham-university-data-breach-affects-over-450-000-students/ (opens in a new tab)

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Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 11 Jun 2026, 07:42 UTC

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