CAO website hit by second attack
Following Monday’s debacle, whereby the CAO website was inaccessible for much of the morning, yesterday saw more issues arise causing IT staff to shut down the interactive ‘my application’ section following another attack from an unknown source.
The office also had to disable the ‘forgot password’ facility, as, according to the CAO, it had been subject to a “malicious attack”. Joseph O’Grady, CAO operations manager, apologised to anyone who was inconvenienced and thanked them for their patience.
“The system was closed yesterday for four hours until 3pm while our IT team assessed the site. However, we would like to reassure applicants that no application accounts were accessed and that the new passwords received from the CAO today are safe and secure and should be used until further notice,” he said.
Mr O’Grady said the CAO would email all applicants new passwords and an update today. “We closed down the interactive part of the website to investigate what happened and... we do not believe applicant accounts have been accessed or that any data has been changed.” He said it might not be possible to tell exactly where the attack or attacks are coming from as false internet protocol (IP) addresses are routinely used in such attacks.
“We are working with our service provider to investigate these issues and will engage with consultants and the relevant authorities in the coming days. In the meantime, our team will... monitor and prevent losses of service,” he said.
According to the CAO, since 6am on Monday morning, 26,891 acceptances have been made online. The deadline for round one acceptances is Monday, August 30 at 5.15pm. Three days later, all students who have accepted an offer will receive printed confirmation notices in the post. “Anyone with concerns should call our information line on 091 509800 or email us from the CAO website, www.cao.ie,” added Mr O’Grady.
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