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UB investigates a cyberattack and guarantees enrolment for the new academic year
The University of Barcelona is investigating a cybersecurity incident detected in its systems just before several September enrolment processes begin. The institution says that enrolment for the 2026-2027 academic year will be able to go ahead and notes that, for now, it has detected no impact on its data.
The UB is working with the Agencia de Ciberseguridad de Cataluña and the Consorcio de Servicios Universitarios de Cataluña to determine the scope of the incident. This Monday, 31 August, the university says that its services are operating normally, although it is keeping additional security and prevention measures in place.
These measures may cause occasional interruptions to some webpages and services over the coming days. The university has not publicly detailed which systems were compromised or the exact time at which the access was detected, so the investigation remains open.
The incident coincides with a particularly sensitive week for the university community. From 1 September, different self-enrolment periods begin for students continuing their studies, although the dates and slots depend on each faculty and degree programme. At some centres, the process will continue through much of September and even October.
The UB maintains that the enrolment process is guaranteed despite the incident. This does not mean that all digital procedures are exempt from possible interruptions: the university itself warns that certain tools or webpages may temporarily become unavailable while protection measures are applied.
The main recommendation for students and staff is to pay particular attention to unexpected messages. The UB warns of possible impersonation attempts by email, SMS, WhatsApp or phone calls and reminds users that it will never request passwords, verification codes or other confidential data through these channels.
For now, there is also no confirmation of a personal-information leak. The university says it has not detected incidents affecting its data, a situation that may be reviewed as the technical analysis progresses. It is therefore advisable to distinguish between the computer incident already confirmed and a possible leak, which at this time has not been established.
The UB will communicate developments through its intranet and notifications in the SocUB app. For students with enrolment assigned in the coming days, the recommendation is to use only official university access points and to check any issue before providing credentials or personal information.