According to an announcement on October 7, Western Sydney University (WSU) said it had recorded fraudulent emails sent to students and alumni, impersonating the school and falsely informing the recipient that the recipient was suspended or had their degree revoked.

“These emails are completely invalid. The university has not issued any such notice. The students’ studies and degrees are still guaranteed,” WSU affirmed.

The school is actively investigating and implementing preventive measures, and recommends that students do not respond to or click on any links in strange emails.

“If in doubt, students should contact the school directly through official channels,” the WSU representative emphasized.

university.jpg
Western Sydney University, Australia. Photo: WSU

The incident has caused panic among the student community. Hundreds of people shared on social media about the strange email sent early in the morning, with the sender having a legitimate domain name “@westernsydney.edu.au” but the content was ambiguous and unprofessional.

“My sister received an email saying her diploma was revoked at 2:50 a.m. on a holiday,” one Reddit user wrote. “She was devastated and didn’t know what to do other than wait for the school to contact her.”

In parallel, a second email was also circulated, apparently sent by a third party, accusing WSU's cybersecurity system of being "repeatedly compromised" and "not taking measures to protect students' personal data."

The email claimed that a former student had exploited a security vulnerability in 2017 to obtain free parking permits, and accused the school of “ignoring warnings for years.”

“These vulnerabilities are so easy to exploit that anyone with a basic understanding of web programming could access and change sensitive information,” the email said.

The sender also denounced many other violations, such as altering student grades and data management errors, and then called on recipients to "protect personal information and not trust the school."

The second email is also being investigated by police for signs of fraud and manipulation of public opinion, Cyber ​​Daily reported.

WSU confirmed that it is working with the police to investigate the crime and determine the source of the phishing emails. According to the latest information, no data was stolen and no people in the university's systems were involved. An unauthorized individual accessed the university's email automation tool and used previously stolen information to spread the scam.

The university's cybersecurity team quickly disabled the system, preventing thousands of additional emails from being sent. The system is now fully under control, and WSU says it is strengthening its security to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

“We apologize for any concern and harm this incident has caused. The school understands the impact it has had on students, alumni and the community,” the school said.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/hang-loat-sinh-vien-nhan-email-bao-thu-hoi-bang-tot-nghiep-dai-hoc-len-tieng-2452677.html