Students from Western Sydney University Have Had Their Data Breached

It’s the second attack on a uni this year

Unfortunately for students at Western Sydney University (WSU), they’ve been impacted by two cybersecurity breaches and some personal data is now on the dark web.

It comes as earlier in the semester students at Notre Dame University were hit by a ransomware attack which affected their IT systems and meant students struggled to enrol online and access coursework and timetables.

In the case of WSU, over 10,000 former and current students’ information was accessed during a breach which took place in January and February 2025.

What was stolen?

According to 9News, the info that was stolen included enrolment, profession and demographic info.

The breach took place through the uni’s single sign-on system which then provided access to students’ information.

A single sign-on system indicates that once a user signs on once you get access to the entire system. E.g. if you log into Google, you get access to Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, etc.

How has the uni responded?

A statement from WSU said, “as soon as the authorised access was detected, the University’s internal and third-party cyber experts immediately began working to shut down the perpetrator’s access to the system in real time.”

WSU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor George Williams AO apologised for the breach.

"Western Sydney University has been the subject of persistent and targeted attacks on our network," he said.

"The University is very aware of the personal impact these incidents are having on its students, staff and wider community.

"On behalf of the University, I apologise to our community. Our teams are working hard to respond and strengthen our digital environment."

What now?

If you are one of the students or ex-students who was affected by the breach, WSU will be attempting to contact you next week.

This matter is now being investigated by WSU and it has also been referred to NSW Police.

Header Image: Western Sydney University.