As you may have seen in the media, a number of UK hospital trusts have been hit by a ransomware attack that, if successful, will encrypt/lock files making them inaccessible, and demand a ‘ransom’ be paid to unlock the files again.

We would like to take this opportunity to reassure you that, at this time, the University has not had any instances of this ransomware and is closely monitoring services in an effort to detect and remove any threat before it reaches our user community.

If, however, you do receive any suspicious emails, particularly over the next few days, please do the following:

• do not reply to the message, do not open any attachments or click on any links.
• forward a copy of the email to the IT Service Desk at itservicedesk@nottingham.ac.uk.
• delete the email from your inbox, deleted items and sent items.

These messages may appear to come from friends or colleagues so extra vigilance is needed, particularly if you use a University device to view your personal email accounts.  The email message is likely to be short, and ask a simple question in order to prompt you to either click a link or open an attachment.

If you have received any suspicious emails and have clicked on a link or opened attached files, please immediately contact the IT Service Desk on 0115 95 16677 or your local Campus IT support team.