Hackers possibly had access to Amsterdam universities' student passwords

Last week, the passwords of the more than one hundred thousand employees and students of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam (HvA) and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) were possibly compromised in a hacker attack, NU.nl reports.

It is not yet clear if the hackers actually had access to the passwords, nonetheless, the institutions are asking all students and lecturers to change their passwords as an extra safety measure.

The UvA and HvA first noticed signs of a cyber attack last week on Wednesday. The cybercriminals were likely intended to stage a ransomware attack, a spokesperson of the UvA said to NU.nl. In a ransomware attack, hackers seize valuable information and ask the owner to pay large sums in order to have access to it returned.

Investigations are still ongoing. For now, the institutions only reported that the cybercriminals were professional hackers.

The higher education institutions also warned that phishing emails are circulating. The emails ask the recipient to reset their passwords via a link. When the person in question, however, clicks on the link the hackers gain access to personal information.