University of Sydney discloses a data breach impacting 27,000 people

According to Security Affairs, the University of Sydney disclosed a data breach affecting about 27,500 individuals, after threat actors accessed an online code library and stole personal information. Exposed data includes roughly 10,000 current staff, 12,500 former staff, and about 5,000 alumni and students, many dating from 2010–2019.

The breach notification states that a historical data file from a retired system containing staff personal information, including name, date of birth, phone number and home address, was accessed on 4 September 2018. The university said there is currently no evidence the data has been used or published, and it is actively monitoring for signs of misuse while working with cybersecurity partners to investigate and assess impact.

Notifications to impacted individuals are expected to commence immediately and be completed in January 2026, with the institution emphasising that the incident is unrelated to a recent student results issue.