Western Sydney University has suffered a significant cyberattack, marking the latest in a series of incidents targeting the institution since 2023. Sensitive data belonging to students, staff, and alumni—including tax file numbers, bank account details, passport and driver license information, visa and health data, contact information, and even ethnicities—was compromised when threat actors gained access to the university’s Student Management System hosted on a cloud-based platform by a third-party provider.
The breach was discovered after two instances of unusual activity on August 6 and August 11, 2025. Investigations revealed that unauthorised access occurred through a chain involving external systems linked to the university’s infrastructure between June 19 and September 3, 2025. The attackers subsequently used this stolen data to send out fraudulent emails to students and graduates on October 6, 2025.
These emails falsely claimed recipients had been excluded from the university or had their degrees revoked, causing widespread concern. Some scam emails appeared especially credible as they included legitimate student numbers and exploited ongoing web vulnerabilities.
The university responded by immediately initiating investigations, directing its third-party supplier to shut down access, and cooperating closely with the NSW Police Cybercrime Squad’s Strike Force Docker. Notably, in June 2025, police arrested a former student, Birdie Kingston, alleged to have played a role in earlier hacks, although officials stopped short of directly connecting this individual to the latest attack.
In recent statements, Vice-Chancellor Professor George Williams apologised for the disruption and emphasised the institution’s ongoing efforts to rectify the issue and bolster cybersecurity. The attack forms part of a troubling pattern of breaches, including incidents involving Microsoft Office 365 and other IT environments exposed since 2023. Data from previous attacks has surfaced on both the dark web and clear web, affecting thousands of current and former students.
WSU has advised affected community members to change passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and avoid using the same password across multiple online accounts. Victims are encouraged to follow university guidance and make use of support services available. The institution continues to work with law enforcement and remains on high alert for further attacks.