Cyberattacks on Danish universities

A series of major cyberattacks has targeted prominent Danish academic institutions. The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) reported a serious breach of its identity and rights management system, potentially affecting approximately 200,000 current and former users. The breach involved access to the DTUBasen user database, which contains data on roughly 40,000 active and 160,000 former users.

Following this, the University of Copenhagen (KU) experienced repeated attacks that forced the closure of administrative systems. A major security breach at KU compromised the sensitive personal information of approximately 525,000 individuals, including full names, email addresses, and CPR numbers. The theft of ID card access codes necessitated the issuance of new PIN codes for roughly 20,000 students and employees.

Minister for Research, Education and Digitalization Christina Egelund characterized these attacks on knowledge institutions as a “threat to a vital pillar of Danish society,” noting that the incidents follow similar patterns seen at Aarhus University and DTU.