Investigation launched after cybersecurity incident at Cambridge University Press & Assessment

A group has claimed that data relating to Cambridge University Press & Assessment has been published online following a cybersecurity incident, the organisation has said.

The University of Cambridge department said some of its systems were taken offline “as a precautionary measure”.

It said the incident affected part of its publishing operation and there has been “no impact on the current exam series”.

A message posted to its site on Thursday, 27 June stated: “Cambridge University Press & Assessment is dealing with technical disruption, following a cybersecurity incident affecting part of our publishing operation.

“Our customer-facing platforms are running as normal. Some of our colleagues have faced technical disruption, including temporary loss of email access, as we continue to take a number of precautionary measures to keep our systems secure. We are making good progress in restoring access.

“We are doing all that we can to restore our systems and return to our usual ways of working as quickly as possible.”

The organisation is working with the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, as well as other external experts and authorities, following the claim. The investigation is being led by the National Crime Agency.

A spokesperson for Cambridge University Press & Assessment told the Cambridge Independent: “We recently experienced a cybersecurity incident, affecting a part of our publishing operation.

“As soon as we became aware of the incident, we took some of our systems offline as a precautionary measure and engaged external IT and forensic experts to respond to and investigate the matter.

“Despite the disruption, the majority of our external customer-facing platforms are working as normal and there has been no impact on the current exam series.

“We are aware that a group has claimed that data relating to our organisation has been published online. We are working to investigate with external experts and authorities, including the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre.

“Experts have advised that the investigation will take some time to complete, and we will continue to provide our colleagues, customers and stakeholders with updates as soon as we can.”

Cambridge University Press & Assessment delivers assessments and exams for more than eight million learners in more than 170 countries. Meanwhile, its Cambridge University Press imprint publishes more than 380 peer-reviewed academic journals and thousands of books for research and higher education.