Auckland University of Technology hit by cyberattack claimed by Monti ransomware
- Organization
- Auckland University of Technology
- Exploit
- Ransomware
- Industry
- Higher Education
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand's third largest university with more than 29,000 students across three campuses, confirmed in September 2023 that it had experienced a cyber incident involving unauthorised access to its IT environment by an unknown third party.
The university said it contained and isolated the affected servers, put additional security measures in place, and engaged external cybersecurity professionals to investigate. It reported the incident to New Zealand's National Cyber Security Centre and to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
The Monti ransomware group claimed responsibility on 21 September 2023, adding AUT to the listing page on its dark web site and publishing a download link for a sample of what it said was stolen material. The group claimed to hold 60 gigabytes of data and set a deadline of 9 October for payment, without stating the amount demanded.
A university spokesperson, Jeremy Scott, said disruption to AUT services had been minimal and that normal university operations and teaching activities were continuing on campus and online, while cautioning that the investigation might take some time to complete. Monti emerged in June 2022 using code resembling that of the defunct Conti operation and had resumed activity after a two month pause shortly before the AUT listing appeared.