Update: March 2021
Following this security incident, Blackbaud have been working hard to further bolster their security operations. Loughborough University has also conducted its own investigations and security audit of Blackbaud and are satisfied that the appropriate security measures and policies are in place and that the vulnerability which lead to this breach has been resolved.
Ends
A computer software company called Blackbaud, who provide the platform for our alumni database, recently experienced a data breach. A copy of a sub-set of data which contained email addresses was taken in an attempted cyber-attack. Blackbaud have stated that this copy was then destroyed before it could be passed on further or misused, although this cannot be guaranteed. We are confident that no sensitive personal or financial information or passwords were accessed.
There is no need to take any action, but it is generally best practice to exercise caution when opening or responding to emails and consider whether they are from a legitimate contact or source.
More information about how to spot suspicious (phishing) emails is available from the National Cyber Security Centre (www.ncsc.gov.uk). If you are concerned about activity around the use of your email, please let us know and use the suspicious email reporting service (SERS) via: report@phishing.gov.uk
Many other UK universities have experienced much more significant data loss as a result of the same cyber incident.
We apologise for this incident and any concern or inconvenience it may cause. Loughborough University takes its data protection responsibilities very seriously and we will continue to work with Blackbaud to investigate this matter.
If you have any further questions, please email: alumni@lboro.ac.uk, quoting your unique ID number where possible.