[ad_1]
Hackers have infiltrated the accounting system of the University of Basel and diverted salaries to third party accounts. This is what the Sunday newspaper and other Tamedia titles report. According to the Basel prosecutor’s office, other Swiss universities have also been affected by the attacks. He is investigating the cases.
According to the prosecutor, cybercriminals used phishing to obtain access data to the university system. There they would have changed the accounts of the beneficiaries for the payment of wages. A “six-figure amount” was stolen from the universities. So far, the perpetrators could not be identified.
Fake emails sent from hacked accounts
In addition to phishing method, in which criminals obtain confidential user data through a fraudulent scheme, the perpetrators also send fake emails from hacked employee accounts. The umbrella organization Swissuniversities described this in a circular email this week, warning universities of cyberattacks. The spoofed employee emails were “rePayments of wages at the end of the month were diverted to third party accounts and from there, in part, he immediately moved abroad ”, Tamedia quotes from the circular. There it is also said that several universities were defrauded with large amounts of money.
Uni Basel poorest at 15,000 francs
The University of Basel confirms the attack on Tamedia. “A few weeks ago outsiders managed to penetrate parts of the university network,” says spokesman Matthias Geering. «The University of Basel is a financial loss of approx. 15,000 francs was incurred. ” This was made possible because members of the university fell for the phishing emails and passed their login details. All employees were immediately informed by the university and warned to exercise extreme caution. Internal IT processes have been adapted in such a way that an attack by hackers in this way will no longer be possible, Geering continued. The University of Basel filed a complaint against unknown persons with the prosecutor.
The University of Zurich also confirms that he was the victim of a cyber attack. According to his spokesman, there have been attempts at fraud, but they have not been successful. The employees would have recognized the scam.
