The internal secondment agency of Leiden University has been hit by ransomware. The Dutch university reported the attack to the national data protection authority.
An internal statement for employees reveals that the salary processing system of Job Motion, an internal university secondment agency, “may” have been affected by ransomware. The timing of the attack was not disclosed. In addition, it’s unclear whether data was captured.
Critical system
Leiden University states that the salary processing system is critical. The environment contains the personal data of every university staffer employed through the internal secondment agency, including names addresses, places of residence, phone numbers, email addresses and billing info.
Leiden University reported the attack to the national data protection authority of the Netherlands. A specialized security firm has been called in for forensic investigation and remedial work. Although Leiden University is optimistic about resolving the problem, it cannot refute that data may have been lost to third parties.
Phishing and identity fraud
The university urges staffers employed through the secondment agency to be alert to phishing and identity fraud attempts in the coming period. Recent salaries have been processed without issues and are guaranteed for the rest of the month.
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