University of Western Australia

Summary

The University of Western Australia reported a cyber attack that exposed thousands of staff and student passwords, prompting the locking of all accounts and a mandatory password reset. Officials said no other data appeared to have been accessed and that teaching continued without interruption while a critical incident management team worked overnight to restore access. The institution provided a short extension for assessments and continued support for password resets, noting the response as swift and emphasizing ongoing efforts to strengthen cybersecurity amid rising threats to higher education.

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Description

The University of Western Australia detected a cybersecurity incident on Saturday night that involved unauthorised access to password information for thousands of staff and students. Upon discovery, the university locked all affected accounts and initiated a system‑wide password reset over the weekend. Chief Information Officer Fiona Bishop announced that a critical incident management team had been activated to begin countermeasures. She noted that IT and many teams worked tirelessly overnight on Saturday and through the weekend to lock and reset the passwords of students, staff and visitors.

The breach exposed only password data, with no evidence that any other information had been accessed, according to Bishop’s statement. She likened the situation to “following footprints in the sand,” indicating the limited trace left by the attackers. To accommodate the disruption, the university granted staff and students a three‑day extension on student assessments while assuring that classes would continue as normal. Support teams remained available to help individuals reset their passwords over the following days.

The university said it did not anticipate any interruptions to teaching and that classes could proceed as planned. Bishop expressed satisfaction with the responsiveness of the IT and digital experts involved in the response. UWA indicated that it would continue to bolster its cybersecurity posture in light of what it described as rising threats to the higher education sector. The investigation into the incident was ongoing at the time of the report.

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