SINGAPORE — Following a massive data breach at Australian National University (ANU), Singaporean students at the institution as well as alumni said that they were anxious for more details on the attack. The personal data of staff members, visitors and students dating back 19 years were accessed during the hack.

Those interviewed said on Tuesday (June 4) that they were also worried about how the information — which included bank account details and student academic transcripts — could be potentially misused.

One of the Singaporeans there, a third-year accounting and finance student, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tham, told TODAY in a phone interview: “The university told us two weeks after finding out about the breach, but I hope it updates us about what is going on, how it plans on mitigating future risks and making improvements in its IT systems."

The 23-year-old added: “Besides the emails (about the breach), it hasn’t done anything else. We also wouldn’t know or find out what it is doing behind the scenes.”

Mr Irshad Angullia, 24, president of the university's Singapore Students Association, who is also a Singaporean student there, said: “Everyone is preparing for exams at the moment, but there are still people who feel disturbed (by the data breach).”

The association has about 130 members, mainly Singaporeans.

He added that he received an email from the university, notifying him about the breach, but has not heard of the university reaching out to specific students.

However, Mr Angullia feels that the university has handled the matter well. He said: “Overall, we are quite reassured by the school’s actions and we can see that it is trying to improve the situation. We have not heard of any specific or alarming stories.”

He said that the association will try to render support to the Singaporean community there, adding that they are prepared to contact the Singapore High Commission if necessary.

Mr Arthur Liew, 47, who graduated from ANU in 2015 and is now an Australian migration agent in Singapore, told TODAY that he had received three emails alerting him about the breach on Tuesday morning.

He said: “Someone can use the information to commit identity theft or borrow money using my name. If credit card information was among the information accessed in the breach, then I do have cause to be worried.”

ANU stated that credit card details were not stolen.

Mr Liew did say, however, that the emails from the university were “sufficient” in providing information about the breach. “I think they have been transparent in handling the matter and informed us quickly after finding out about the breach.”

A spokesperson from ANU confirmed that international students in the university were among those affected.

ANU's vice-chancellor, Professor Brian Schmidt, said in a statement on Tuesday: “It is with profound regret I inform you we have been victims of a data breach that has affected personal data belonging to our community. In late 2018, a sophisticated operator accessed our systems illegally. We detected the breach two weeks ago.

“For the past two weeks, our staff have been working tirelessly to further strengthen our systems against secondary or opportunistic attacks. I’m now able to provide you with the details of what occurred. We believe there was unauthorised access to significant amounts of personal staff, student and visitor data extending back 19 years.”

The information accessed in the breach may include names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers, personal email addresses and emergency contact details, tax file numbers, payroll information, bank account details, and passport details. Student academic records were also accessed.

However, the systems that store credit card details, travel information, medical records, police checks, workers’ compensation, vehicle registration numbers, and some performance records have not been affected, ANU said.

Prof Schmidt said: “That is what we know. We’re working closely with Australian government security agencies and industry security partners to investigate further. The university has taken immediate precautions to further strengthen our IT security and is working continuously to build on these precautions to reduce the risk of future intrusion.”