A faculty member of the Nagoya University Graduate School of Humanities recently fell victim to a support scam, resulting in unauthorized third-party access to their computer. It has been confirmed that this incident may have led to the leakage of personal information stored on the affected computer.
On April 13, 2025, while browsing a website, the faculty member was suddenly alerted by a loud warning sound and an on-screen message stating that a virus had been detected. The message instructed the user to run antivirus software and to call a support number. When the faculty member followed these instructions, the computer was remotely accessed by a third party, leading to unauthorized access.
The university promptly disconnected the device from the network and initiated an investigation. It was found that the computer contained records for 1,626 students, detailed as follows:
Undergraduate students (482 individuals): Name, student ID number, and grades for specific courses (437 individuals)
Graduate students (175 individuals): Name, student ID number, and email address (83 individuals)
Students from affiliated schools (969 individuals): Name, sex, class, and student number
At present, there is no evidence that this information has been misused.
Students whose names and details were listed in the affected records have been contacted via email or postal mail. The university has provided an overview of the incident, offered contact information for a support desk, and issued formal apologies to those affected.
We sincerely apologize for the significant inconvenience and concern this incident has caused to all those involved.
Moving forward, the university will strengthen its programs on personal information protection and information security, raise awareness among faculty and staff, and implement thorough measures to prevent such incidents from recurring.
This article was originally published in Japanese and has been translated and edited for clarity and readability by the Nagoya University International Communications Office while preserving the original content’s intent. The original Japanese version is available here.
