A HACKING gang has come forward claiming to be the perpetrators of a cyber attack on Notre Dame, saying they’ve got students’ medical records and staff contact information. 

Ransomware hackers Fog claimed on their dark web site to have pinched 62.2GB of data from the University, which they say has a revenue of $103 million.

Under “categories of files found”, Fog say they have access to employee and customer contacts and students’ medical documents, as well as “confidential agreements and licences”. 

• Fog’s dark web blog claims they’ve hacked at least 23 businesses and organisations since the beginning of the year, with educational institution high on its list of targets.

Priority

Notre Dame released an email to staff and students saying it is working to verify Fog’s claims “as a priority”. 

“At this stage of our forensic investigation, all evidence indicates the information held on our student information system remains secure,” the email said. 

“We are now working to determine what information was held on these servers… if we detect that personal information has been impacted, we will contact those individuals as soon as possible.

“We would also like to assure you that we are taking all appropriate steps to respond to this incident… we have implemented sophisticated monitoring systems to ensure we are aware of any further developments.” 

According to cybersecurity company Sentinel One, Fog Ransomware is a relatively new, “multi-pronged extortion” data-leak site which “primarily” focus on education and manufacturing sectors. 

The Fog blog claims to have hacked 23 organisations in 2025 alone, including educational institutions in the US, Romania, and Oman, as well as groups in other sectors worldwide. 

The University says it has notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre of Fog’s claims and is “engaging with other relevant government agencies” to rectify the issue. 

Dystopian

Notre Dame student Grace said it was strange to think her university had been hacked and her data potentially breached.

“The idea that this company has stolen student and staff data is all a bit dystopian,” Grace told the Herald.

“It’s the sort of thing you hear on the news, or on a crime podcast – it doesn’t feel real.

“Whilst I’m confident the university is doing everything they can to protect students, it is startling that something like this can happen in the first place.”

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER