Bosses at the University of Manchester have issued an update after students and staff were sent a series of chilling emails threatening to 'destroy lives.'
A number of students and alumni are said to have been directly written to by the university, alerting them that a 'small proportion of data' has been copied in a cyber attack.
It comes after terrified students told the M.E.N they'd received messages from supposed hackers, who claimed to have obtained addresses, police reports, academic investigations and health data from the university network.
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The university say following their investigations, they now 'understand more about the data that has been accessed by a criminal entity.' It is not clear what data has been taken, and how many students have been affected.
In an email sent to students, lecturers and staff this week, hackers threatened to sell off personal data to the 'highest bidder' unless they come to a resolution with the university, or if the recipients of the mail pay a 'small fee' for the non-disclosure of information.
University bosses announced earlier this month that an investigation had been launched following a 'cyber security incident' in which unauthorised activity was detected on its network.
One student, who asked to remain anonymous, told the M.E.N she was "shocked" when the emails came through this week.
"The university have put a new filter system on emails to try and block unwanted messages but clearly it isn't functioning well," she said. "It's quite threatening and we have no idea if the hackers have got the data they claim to hold or are trying to scare.
"Either way, it's our personal data tat the university has a duty to protect. I'm worried about the long term affect this could have on future career prospects. It's really terrifying."
In one email seen by the Manchester Evening News, the hacker/s state they have stolen 7TB (terabytes) of data from the university, including confidential personal information from students and staff.
In an update from the university on Friday (23 June), they said they are 'working around the clock' to address the issue.
"We understand that this will create concern for some, but we would like to assure our community that our internal and external experts are working around the clock to continue to address this and our investigations are continuing," a spokesperson said.
"We are continuing to work with the relevant authorities, including the Information Commissioner’s Office, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the National Crime Agency and other regulatory bodies. Our cyber incident information page will also continue to be updated, as the first point of call for any ongoing updates.
"We are asking all staff and students to remain vigilant of any suspicious emails, including those that appear to come from those responsible for this incident. Do not engage with or reply to these emails in any way. We would like to thank all staff and students for their continued support and patience."
