THE University of Sunderland is under a suspected 'cyber attack' staff have said.

An email sent out to staff and students shared on Twitter said the university had been experiencing significant IT disruption - which they believe is a cyber attack.

The email said: "We are now working with a number of agencies, including the police, to find out what has happened and the extent of the issues we are facing.

"We apologise to our staff and students for the ongoing disruption."

All access to IT systems has been removed for staff and students at their Sunderland London campuses.

This means there is no access to email, Office 365, Canvas and business systems.

Wi-fi on campuses has also been disabled.

 

A spokesperson for the University of Sunderland, said: "The University has been experiencing extensive IT disruption issues which have all the hallmarks of a cyber-attack.

“We are now working with a number of agencies, including the police, to find out what has happened and the extent of the problems.

 "The University would like to reassure staff and students that we were able to respond quickly to the situation. However, a number of our IT services are not currently operating. We intend, though, to maintain face-to-face teaching as far as possible.

"We will continue to update staff and students on the situation through various platforms that remain accessible.

"We take the security of our systems extremely seriously and will work to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."

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