Suspected Ransomware Attack Forces Osaka Metropolitan University to Cancel Classes

Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) cancelled classes and shut down much of its IT infrastructure after a suspected ransomware attack that began late last week. The university said its internal network, email and many administrative and academic systems were unavailable, including payroll, human resources, financial accounting and library services. Japanese media reported that about 500 servers stopped operating. OMU is investigating with outside cybersecurity specialists. It has not named the attackers or said whether a ransom demand was received.

Japanese media reports said information on at least 130,000 current and former students, faculty members and others may have been exposed. This could include names, addresses and email addresses, as well as data linked to Osaka Prefecture University and Osaka City University, which merged in 2022 to form OMU. The university has not confirmed that personal data was stolen and says it is still investigating. It has reported the incident to Japan's data protection authority and other government agencies.

Classes are cancelled through at least Thursday. In-person classes are planned to resume Friday, while online classes depend on system recovery. Entrance exam applications and enrolment systems stayed available because they are hosted on external servers. The university hospital's electronic medical record system was not affected, and its veterinary clinical center also kept operating.