MTU students in Cork targeted by email pranksters in 'spoofing' event
MTU confirmed a 'spoofing' event carried out on Monday night appears to have been a prank email that has since been dealt with by its IT team. Picture: Denis Minihane
Munster Technological University (MTU) has confirmed students were targeted by pranksters via email on Monday night.
It has moved to allay fears over an IT breach, with MTU the target of a major ransomware cyberattack in February 2023.
That breach led to the temporary closure of its four Cork campuses and went on to cost the technological university €3.5m in direct costs so far to date.
On Tuesday, MTU confirmed a “spoofing” event carried out on Monday night appears to have been a prank email that has since been dealt with by its IT team.
At about 11.15pm on Monday night, all MTU students on Cork campuses were sent emails from a spoofed email address. The emails did not contain any malicious content.
“This was detected by MTU’s IT and security systems, and the emails were removed from all student accounts by 5am,” a spokesman for MTU confirmed.
“As always, MTU reminds all students and staff to be extra vigilant over the holiday season and continue to be alert for suspicious emails or messages.”
Last month, Waterford’s campus of the South-East Technological University was also hit with a cyberattack, targeting its IT systems.
The attack became apparent as the campus was marking the conferring of students at the facility.
