Industry - Data Breach

moderateAnti-PrivacyJun 11, 2026 → Jun 11, 2026Data Breach

Executive Summary

The University of Nottingham confirmed that hackers accessed its student records system, exposing personal data of approximately 454,600 current and former students across its UK, Malaysia, and China campuses. The stolen information includes names, addresses, phone numbers, passport numbers, payment details, and sensitive data such as ethnicities and disabilities. The cybercrime group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility and posted stolen documents on their dark web leak site as part of a broa...

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data-breach

What Happened

On June 11, 2026, the University of Nottingham confirmed that hackers accessed its student records system, exposing data belonging to 454,600 current and former students across its UK, Malaysia, and China campuses. The cybercrime group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility and posted over 40GB of stolen documents on their dark web leak site as proof. The university reported the incident to the UK's Information Commissioner's Office and Action Fraud, and is working with a third-party platform maintainer to conduct a forensic investigation.

Who Is Affected

Approximately 454,600 current and former students of the University of Nottingham are affected, spanning campuses in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, and China. The exposed information includes email addresses, full names, home addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, IP addresses, passport numbers, ethnicities, disabilities, payment details, credit card information, and data relating to academic enrollments and fee payments. This breach is part of a larger campaign by ShinyHunters targeting over 100 organizations worldwide using Oracle PeopleSoft systems.

Why It Matters

This breach is significant due to the scale of sensitive personal data exposed, including passport numbers, financial information, and protected characteristics like ethnicity and disability status that could enable identity theft, financial fraud, and discrimination. The incident reveals a systematic vulnerability in Oracle PeopleSoft enterprise software, which is widely used globally for managing human resources, finance, and campus administration. The fact that ShinyHunters is exploiting a chain of vulnerabilities across more than 100 organizations demonstrates a widespread security threat to institutions relying on this platform.

What You Should Do

Affected students should immediately monitor their bank accounts and credit card statements for unauthorized transactions and consider placing fraud alerts or credit freezes with credit bureaus. Change passwords for university accounts and any other accounts using the same credentials, and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible. Watch for phishing emails or calls that reference your personal information, as attackers may use the stolen data to target you with scams. Check if your email appears in the breach by visiting Have I Been Pwned and following their guidance for compromised accounts.

Summary generated from verified sources and reviewed before publication. How we summarize.

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