Fórsa members working at the Munster Technological University (MTU) are urged to be vigilant after data was “accessed and copied” from its computer systems and shared on the dark web.

MTU is working with the National Cyber Security Centre to investigate the attack, believed to have been carried out by a Russia-based hacking collective known as Blackcat or APLHV.

Earlier this week Fórsa official Stella Griffin contacted MTU management directing them to advise their staff to immediately change their passwords should there be any possibility of compromise to the payroll section.

In a statement, MTU said:

“We are continuing to review and investigate the incident and, in particular, the release of data on the ‘dark web’ so that we can provide any persons affected by this incident with further updates and guidance where necessary and as soon as practicable.

“In the meantime, we recommend any person potentially affected by this incident to follow the official advice and recommendations on the prevention of fraud from the National Cyber Security Centre and the joint guidance of An Garda Siochána and the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland.”

The sudden increase of those working from home has suddenly presented IT personnel and users with a set of cyber security challenges that, whilst not unique, are being experienced on a significantly larger scale than ever before.

For information on how to best safeguard yourself and your workplace from cyber threats you can click HERE.