Blackbaud Data Breach - latest (Oct 2020)

Blackbaud security incident update

On 16 July, we were contacted by Blackbaud - one of the world’s largest providers of database management systems for the Higher Education sector and not-for-profit organisations - regarding a ransomware attack that took place between February and May 2020.

The perpetrator was able to remove a copy of a subset of data from a number of Blackbaud’s clients. This included Brunel University London data from the system used to record engagement with members of the Brunel community, including alumni and supporters.

After the initial ransomware attack, Blackbaud continued their investigation, which revealed that some of their clients had been affected further than previously anticipated, as you may have seen in recent stories in the media. 

We have been informed by Blackbaud that Brunel is not one of the clients that had been affected further. There have been no further breaches to the data we hold, and Brunel was NOT involved in additional findings regarding the security incident.

We contacted all alumni and supporters regarding the original ransomware attack, and published our response. We are keen to keep you updated with the latest information from Blackbaud.

We sincerely apologise for this incident and regret any inconvenience it may cause. We continue to liaise with and be advised by our Data Protection Officer and Cyber Security team to maintain the data safety of our alumni and supporters.