Breach date: 2026-06-09. Added to this index: 2026-06-10. Accounts affected: about 455K. Domain: nottingham.ac.uk.
What happened
In June 2026, the University of Nottingham was the target of a cyber attack, later linked to a ShinyHunters "pay or leak" extortion campaign. Tens of gigabytes of data were subsequently published online and included 455k unique email addresses along with extensive personal information including names, addresses, phone numbers, ethnicities, disabilities, passport numbers and information relating to academic enrolments and fee payments. In a post about the incident, the university advised that the breach affected both "current students, and alumni".
Breach data sourced from Have I Been Pwned, used under CC BY 4.0. Additional breach metadata provided by XposedOrNot. DataExposed is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by either.
What was exposed
Academic records: Transcripts, enrolment history, course lists, student numbers and graduation dates held by a school, university or online learning platform. Some records also carry disciplinary notes and fee status.
Citizenship statuses: A field recording whether you are a citizen, permanent resident, visa holder or other status, sometimes with a visa type, country of birth or expiry date. It appears in HR, bank, government and education records.
Dates of birth: Your full birth date, day, month and year, collected at signup for age checks, identity verification, insurance quotes, birthday offers or government services.
Disabilities: Records of a physical, sensory, intellectual or psychosocial disability, or of accessibility needs and support arrangements, held by employers, insurers, schools, transport providers, disability services and government agencies.
Email addresses: The email address you used to register or log in. It is the most common field in breaches because it doubles as your username on most sites.
Ethnicities: Your recorded ethnic or racial background, often from workplace diversity surveys, health records, government forms, genetic testing services, dating apps and research studies.
Genders: The gender or sex recorded on your profile, usually picked from a list at signup, sometimes with a title such as Mr or Ms or a gender identity option beyond male and female.
IP addresses: The network addresses your devices used when you signed up, logged in or posted, recorded by almost every website in its access logs.
Names: Your first name, surname and sometimes middle name or initials, as you gave them when you signed up. It appears in almost every breach because nearly every account asks for it.
Passport numbers: The unique number printed on your passport, often stored with your full name, nationality, date of birth and expiry date by airlines, hotels, travel agents, exchanges and identity verification services.
Phone numbers: Your mobile or landline number, collected at signup for contact, delivery updates, marketing and two-factor codes.
Physical addresses: Your residential, postal, billing or delivery address, stored by retailers, utilities, banks, government services and almost any company that sends you something.
What to do now
Check whether your own address is in this dataset with the free email breach check.
Review the accounts connected to this service and turn on two-factor authentication.
Turn on two-factor authentication on your email account first, because it is the reset path for everything else.
Treat calls and messages that quote real details about you as hostile until you verify them another way.
Frequently asked questions
What data was leaked in the University of Nottingham breach?
The University of Nottingham breach exposed Academic records, Citizenship statuses, Dates of birth, Disabilities, Email addresses, Ethnicities, Genders, IP addresses, Names, Passport numbers, Phone numbers, Physical addresses, Purchases, Salutations, Usernames. About 455K accounts were affected.
Was I affected by the University of Nottingham breach?
Run the free email breach check with the address you used on that service. It will tell you whether your address appears in this dataset.
What should I do about the University of Nottingham breach?
Treat any message that quotes details from this breach as suspicious, turn on two-factor authentication, and consider removing your details from people-search sites if your address or phone was included.