SFU warns cyberattack exposed personal information of about 200,000 students, staff and alumni

Simon Fraser University is warning its school community about a cyberattack that breached a server which stored information on student and employee ID numbers and other data, including admissions or academic standing.

The school says about 200,000 people were affected by the breach.

The university said its Information Technology Services staff discovered the attack on one of the school's servers on Feb. 5 and isolated the server.

The server contained personal information for some current and former students, faculty, staff and student applicants.

SFU pointed out the data exposed by the breach did not contain banking details, social insurance numbers or passwords, however it did include student or employee ID numbers and at least one other piece of information.

The university said in a statement that people who were affected by the data breach and who have a current email address on file with the university are being notified or can check online using their ID number to find out if they were impacted.

Ransomware attack last year

The university explained the risk of identity theft is low, but said people who are affected should monitor their personal accounts and memberships for unusual activity for the next several months.

Last year, on Feb. 27, ransomware — malicious software that locks a computer system until a ransom is paid — breached a database at Simon Fraser University and compromised the personal information of about 250,000 students, faculty and alumni.

The school warned cyberattack attempts are becoming more sophisticated and are on the rise as the university improves its security systems.