April 27, 2021 update: The link below to the FAQ has been updated to go to a page providing more information about protecting your identity. The Spanish translation is in progress.
April 22, 2021 update: UCOP added a couple of recorded webinars about ways people can protect themselves to its microsite, in both English and Spanish. Also, the link below to the FAQ has been updated to go to a page providing more information about protecting your identity.
The University of California has learned that it, along with other universities, government agencies and private companies throughout the country, was recently subject to a cybersecurity attack. The attack involves the use of Accellion, a vendor used by many organizations for file transfer, in which an unauthorized individual appears to have copied and transferred UC files by exploiting a vulnerability in Accellion’s file-transfer service.
Upon learning of the attack, UC reported the incident to federal law enforcement, took measures to contain it and began an investigation. At this time, UC officials believe this attack only affected the Accellion system and did not compromise other UC systems or networks.
UC’s investigation includes a review of the files we believe may have been copied and transferred as part of this attack. Upon completion of our review, we should be able to better assess the data and individuals impacted. Once we can identify affected individuals, we will notify them and provide information regarding additional next steps.
UC is working with local and federal law enforcement and third-party vendors to investigate this incident, to assess the information that has been compromised, to enforce the law and to limit the release of stolen information.
- Message from the UC Office of the President about the data breach affecting the UC community
- Frequently asked questions | Spanish version (PDF) (English-language FAQ updated 4/27)
- UCOP has also established a dedicated email account where members of the UC community can ask questions: communications@ucop.edu.
- If you receive any suspicious email that is not from a recognized UCOP or UCLA address, or phone calls about this incident, please report it to us via security@ucla.edu. Do not click on any links, do not reply to the sender or provide any personal information over the phone.
What you should do to protect your personal and financial information (April 5, 2021)
- Sign up for free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. To help you protect your identity, we are offering the entire UC community complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection for one year through Experian IdentityWorks.
- Monitor and set up alerts for bank account(s): Monitor your bank account(s) for suspicious transactions and report any to your bank. Ask the bank for online monitoring and alerts on your account. This will give you early warning of any fraudulent transactions.
- Watch out for suspicious emails: We believe the person(s) behind the Accellion FTA attack may send threatening mass emails in an attempt to scare people into giving them money. Anyone receiving such an email should either forward it to your local information security office or simply delete it. Please do not engage or respond.
- Place a fraud alert on your credit file: We recommend you place a fraud alert on your credit file by contacting one of the three nationwide credit bureaus listed below. If a fraud alert is placed on a consumer’s credit file, certain identity verification steps must be taken prior to extending new credit.
In addition, you may wish to take additional identity theft measures.