University of Copenhagen Breach Exposes Data of 525,000 People

The University of Copenhagen in Denmark confirmed that hackers accessed a test environment containing personal data belonging to 525,000 people. The university detected the breach last Tuesday and disclosed it on Friday.

In an update yesterday, the university added another 20,000 staff members and students whose PIN codes were exposed. It is still investigating the incident to determine its full scope and says information may have been exposed. The university warned that the data could increase the risk of phishing and social engineering attacks.

The university says it contained the attack and blocked the attacker’s access. It restricted physical access to certain critical campus locations while it distributed new access codes, and is gradually reopening those locations. The university said there is currently no indication that hackers accessed systems supporting daily operations or disrupted university activities.

The university reported the incident to the Danish Data Protection Agency and said it is taking appropriate steps with the relevant regulators under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It promised further updates as its internal investigation allows.