WASHINGTON — The University of Virginia has disabled access to many of its systems, including email, after announcing Friday that it was victim of a cyberattack that originated from China.
Federal authorities alerted the university of a possible cyberattack, which was confirmed on June 11. The university hired a cybersecurity firm to help take corrective action and determine the source.
On its website, the university says the attack originated from China.
The cyberattack targeted portions of its information technology systems and the university moved to shut down its systems beginning at 5 p.m. Friday to do a system security upgrade.
The system upgrade is expected to be completed by the evening of Sunday, Aug. 16. When the upgrade is finished and systems come back online, all users will need to change their “Eservices passwords,” says the university.
Investigators say no personal information such as Social Security numbers, personal health or bank account information was accessed. Also, there is also no evidence that sensitive research material was accessed.
The university says the U.Va. Medical Center will not be affected during the system upgrade as its information technology resources are on a separate secured system.
“The security of your information and other data stored on University systems is a high priority, and we are working diligently to address this matter,” the university says in a release.
University of Virginia isn’t the only local school to fall victim to hackers. There was a data breach at the University of Maryland in February 2014.
