University students and staff have been emailed warning of an impending data breach by a group claiming to be hackers behind a cyberattack.
On June 6, some systems at the University of Manchester were “accessed by an unauthorized party”.
The email, seen by the BBC, threatened a “final warning” against the disclosure of personal data as the university failed to comply with demands.
The university said it was working “around the clock” to resolve the issue.
The facility, which has about 40,000 students and 12,000 staff, has not confirmed how many people have been affected by the incident.
The email threatened students and staff that their personal information would be sold on the black market unless the university resolved the situation.
A spokeswoman for the university said: “Following our reporting of a cyber incident earlier this month, we are aware that some staff and students have been sent emails purporting to be from those behind it.”
“All staff and students should be cautious when opening suspicious emails or phishing attempts and report them to our IT department.”
She said the university is working “around the clock” to “understand what data has been accessed” and is “focusing all available resources” on it.
Anyone affected by the incident will be contacted through university channels, she added.
The university is working with the Information Commissioner’s Office, the North West Organized Crime Unit and the National Cyber Security Center over the cyber attack.
The Information Commissioner’s office has been contacted by the BBC.
A spokesman for the university previously said that the June 6 cyber incident had “no known connection” to the MOVEit hack, which hit employers including the BBC, Boots and British Airways.
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