Teaching to resume on MTU's Cork campuses following ransomware attack

MTU said classes will operate from Monday in line with existing timetables. Picture: Larry Cummins

MTU has given the green light for teaching to resume on its Cork campuses from Monday following last weekend’s crippling cyberattack.

It follows the latest meeting of the university’s leadership team on Friday which received the latest update on the status of its systems in the wake of the ransomware attack.

In a statement afterwards, MTU said classes will operate from Monday in line with existing timetables.

“Students and staff members should check their email accounts and campus notice boards on a regular basis for details of return-to-campus guidance and updates,” it said.

It comes as Ossian Smyth, the minister with responsibility for eGovernment, said it is now clear that the cyberattack on the public body was a targeted attack mounted by criminals who were attempting to demand money.

He said it was similar in many ways to the 2021 cyberattack on the HSE in that it included threats to delete data and to publish data that had been copied.

Ossian Smyth, the minister with responsibility for eGovernment.

But he said in this latest case, it was a direct attack on MTU’s network and infrastructure rather than someone clicking on a link in an email.

"MTU was well prepared. They teach cybersecurity, they have experts, lecturers and professors in this area, and they were very well backed up,” he said.

“We can never 100% prevent this attack from happening but we can take a lot of precautions to mitigate the risk and reduce the chances of being the victims of an attack.” 

MTU's leadership team has been receiving regular daily updates since the cyberattack was discovered last weekend.

It led to the cancellation of all on-campus activity for tens of thousands of staff and students at MTU’s four Cork sites — its main Bishopstown campus, the Cork School of Music, the Crawford College of Art and Design and the National Maritime College in Ringaskiddy — on Tuesday and Wednesday, a full closure which was subsequently extended to next Monday.

MTU's Kerry campuses were not affected and MTU said its core systems such as email, HR, finance, payroll and others were not affected.

The cyberattack was detected by MTU's own IT security systems which then triggered several immediate procedures to intercept and manage the incident. Picture: Larry Cummins

While MTU’s outdoor facilities reopened on Thursday for “pre-arranged, low-risk activities” such as sports training, the university is now focused on ensuring “a phased and managed return” to teaching and learning from Monday.

The cyberattack was detected by MTU's own IT security systems which then triggered several immediate procedures to intercept and manage the incident.

However, the attack did lead to the encryption of certain MTU systems for the purpose of demanding a ransom.

MTU has not disclosed the amount involved but said it has not engaged in negotiations with those behind the attack.

MTU says it is still engaging actively with the relevant authorities, including the gardaí, the National Cyber Security Centre, and its security partners as their investigations continue.

That work incudes trying to gauge the extent of the attack and identify those involved.