To resolve the incident, “All precautionary steps are being taken to manage the situation,” the university said.

University colleagues are working closely with internal and external experts, including authorities such as Police Scotland, the Scottish Government, and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

In consultation with the external support, the university has “been following a controlled process and are making steady steps towards a resolution.”

On certain pages of the university’s website, the following text currently appears: “Areas of our website is currently down and we apologise for any inconvenience this might cause. We are working to resolve this as soon as possible, please check back again soon.”

The news of the incident comes as UWS students celebrate summer graduations, with physical events taking place between June 4 and today, June 7.

The statement noted that “Graduations are continuing as planned this week with no interruption.”

It also confirmed that the university “continues to keep staff and students informed.”

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While a cyber-attack hasn’t been outright specified in this scenario, higher education institutions across the UK such as universities are unfortunately prime targets for disruption and attacks.

The Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) found that half of higher education institutions and three in ten further education colleges reported experiencing breaches or attacks at least weekly, according to its 2023 Cyber Security Breaches Survey.