Cyber incident – daily round-up
28 Jun 2023
Today’s key information – 28 June 2023
Guidance for those impacted by the removal of VPN access
As part of our University's response to the recent cyber incident, the decision was taken to temporarily remove off-campus VPN access on all University accounts. From now until August, which is when we anticipate this downtime will be concluded, colleagues may be required to spend more days working on campus if needed to carry out some or all of their duties.
This is a temporary measure and does not mark a permanent change to the hybrid and remote working arrangements that were established as part of the University’s Hybrid Working Framework.
We recognise that this temporary change in the way we work may cause some challenges for colleagues and are therefore asking that teams work together during this period of disruption to navigate this temporary change and exercise flexibility to ensure we can continue to operate to the best of our abilities.
For more information, please read our latest guidance or FAQs:
- Guidance for those impacted by the removal of VPN access | StaffNet | The University of Manchester
- Guidance and information page – This has been updated with relevant frequently asked questions about this topic, taking into account questions asked during recent open meetings (https://www.manchester.ac.uk/cyber-incident/).
Reminders
Mandatory cyber and data protection training
Given the current situation with the cyber incident, it is especially important for colleagues to understand data protection and cyber security.
Data Protection & Cyber Security training was made available in October 2022 for all staff to complete by the end of January 2023. If you have not already completed the training, you must do so as soon as possible.
More information: Reminder: Mandatory Data Protection and Cyber Security training | StaffNet | The University of Manchester
Experian Offer
Last week, colleagues and PGRs received an email outlining a free, 12-month subscription to leading identity protection service, Experian Identity Plus*. If you are struggling to locate the email in your inbox, please search for the sender ‘‘The University of Manchester noreply@comms.manchester.ac.uk’.
The email contains a unique activation code that will unlock your Identity Plus offer. These codes are valid for a 3-month period. Please do not forward your email to anyone else as they will have received their own unique code.
If you have already accessed the Identity Plus service via the USS data breach, the University will honour a further 12-month subscription once this runs out. Colleagues should contact Wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk once their USS subscription has expired and they will be provided with a new unique code.
If you have checked your inbox and still haven’t received your Experian email, please contact Wellbeing@manchester.ac.uk. If you’ve received your email but your unique code isn’t working, please contact Experian’s Customer Support Centre on 03444 818 182**.
*Please note that the Experian Identity Plus offer is only available for UK- based permanent or fixed-term University employees and postgraduate research students.
**Charges for 03 numbers are the same as standard UK numbers starting 01 or 02. If you can call a 01 or 02 number as part of free inclusive minutes, the same will apply to calling 03 numbers.
Cyber incident guidance and support
All our latest information and guidance, including wellbeing support and FAQs, can be found at: