Data breach at university hits 400 students

A DATA breach affecting more than 400 students at the University of Essex is being treated “very seriously”, the institution said.

Law firm Hayes Connor, which is representing some of those affected, said an email from an external partner of the university accidentally included a spreadsheet containing personal information.

The message from facilities management was to request payment for repairs to a broken door at an accommodation block and was sent on March 23.

The spreadsheet contained more than 400 residents’ information, including student IDS, dates of birth and contact details, Hayes Connor said.

Christine Sabino, the legal specialist at Hayes Connor representing those affected, said it was a “particularly worrying” data breach.

“The spreadsheet contained all kinds of crucial data on hundreds of people, so the seriousness of the issue should not be downplayed,” she said.

A University of Essex spokesman said: “We are taking this issue very seriously and ensuring our delivery partners understand our high expectations about the management of data.”