University of Copenhagen breach exposes data of 525,000 people
University of Copenhagen (UCPH) test environment and administrative systems
Hackers broke into a University of Copenhagen (UCPH) test environment, detected on October 20 and disclosed on October 23. The university says they obtained data on about 525,000 people: full names, Danish national identity (CPR) numbers, work and home phone numbers and personal email addresses. ID card PIN codes for about 20,000 staff and students were also compromised and have been reset. On October 26 UCPH shut down Workzone, Nimbus and other administrative systems as a precaution; it first called this a new attack, then said on October 27 it is linked to the original intrusion. UCPH says there's no sign the attackers reached systems that support day-to-day operations, and it hasn't said who was behind the attack.
Why this severity: National ID numbers and contact data of ~525,000 people exposed; 20,000 ID card PINs compromised
- Started
- Oct 20, 2026
Affected
- About 525,000 people whose records were in a University of Copenhagen test environment
- About 20,000 UCPH staff and students whose ID card PIN codes were compromised
Fixed in
No fixed release yet
Timeline5
UCPH corrects its assessment: the activity was not a new attack but is linked to the original intrusion; the shutdown stays in place and some systems are still disrupted.
UCPH takes Workzone, Nimbus and other administrative systems offline in a preventive, controlled shutdown, initially describing it as a new cyberattack.
UCPH says the PIN codes for ID cards of about 20,000 staff and students were also compromised; all were issued new PINs and the restricted locations reopened.
UCPH discloses the attack: hackers obtained data on about 525,000 people, including full names, national identity (CPR) numbers, work and home phone numbers and personal email addresses. It reports the breach to the Danish Data Protection Agency and restricts physical access to selected critical campus locations.
University of Copenhagen detects an intrusion into one of its test environments and brings it under control.
Advisories2
News & write-ups2
Posts1
Cyberattack on University of Copenhagen exposes data of 525,000 people - t.co/skWGtljNU0 - #CyberAttack #DataBreach #EU #Denmark #education #Cybersecurity #CyberSecurityNews #SecurityNews
Notes & caveats
UCPH reported the breach to the Danish Data Protection Agency (Datatilsynet) under the GDPR and is still analysing the exact scope. No group has publicly claimed the attack.
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