Cyber Attack Disrupts Eindhoven University

Uploaded on 2025-01-22 in NEWS-Cybersecurity News, FREE TO VIEW

The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has been hit by a cyber attack that has shutdown nearly all its digital services and forced the cancellation of classes for thousands of students. The attack has severely disrupted all educational activities and campus operations.

TU/e is a notable research centre with expertise in Quantum computing, where researchers at are developing technology capable of delivering a fast and unhackable quantum Internet.

As a consequence of the attack, TU/e has had to cancel lectures and other educational activities following a cyber attack, although it is expected to have only a limited impact as teaching is reduced while students prepare for exams.

U/e is one of Europe’s top tech universities with a heavy reliance on digital infrastructure, which means that students and staff cannot access their vital electronic services.Email, Wi-Fi, online learning platforms have been taken offline. Even canteen has also been affected, with payment systems not working.

This cyber attack was first detected late on Saturday, January 11th when IT staff first observed unusual activity on university servers.

In response, the university decided to shut down its entire network to prevent the attack from escalating further. Although the network outage has caused significant disruptions, university officials have confirmed there is no indication that any sensitive data has been compromised thus far, and the nature of the attack has not been disclosed.

As TU/e works to restore its network, staff and students have been advised to be cautious of phishing attempts, as cyber criminals frequently exploit such chaos to target victims. With almost 13,000 students and a workforce of 4,000, TU/e’s ability to recover quickly from this attack will be crucial in minimising both operational disruptions and potential security risks.

“We realise that switching off the network has serious consequences for our students, employees, but also for other parties on campus. This necessary intervention was done to prevent worse outcomes,” said Patrick Groothuis, vice president of TU/e.

Implementation of TU/e's recovery plan is still in in progress, although the initial crisis organisation has now been disbanded.

Cyber Express

Image: @TUeindhoven

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