Short news
The ShinyHunters hacker group has given educational institutions an extra six days to pay the ransom. The group is threatening to publish the details of 275 million Canvas users worldwide.
On Thursday evening, the hackers posted a message on various Canvas websites, including those of Dutch institutions. They claim to have hacked the programme again. VU University Amsterdam has disconnected all systems that were still connected to Canvas.
ShinyHunters
Last week it emerged that the personal data of students and lecturers had been stolen. The data comes from Canvas, an educational platform used by some 9,000 institutions worldwide. Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by ShinyHunters, a hacker group previously involved in the Odido breach.
Initially, the US-based Instructure, the creator of Canvas, was given until Wednesday to pay a ransom, otherwise all the data would be made public. However, the deadline has now been extended by six days, ShinyHunters reports on its website.
According to the group, several institutions have made contact. It does not specify which ones these are or which countries they are from. Universities and universities of applied sciences have until 12 May to negotiate to keep their data private. According to the group, Instructure itself has not yet made contact.
‘Do not pay the ransom’
In the Netherlands, seven universities and at least two universities of applied sciences use Canvas. These are the two Amsterdam universities, Erasmus University, Tilburg University, Maastricht University, the University of Twente and Eindhoven University of Technology, as well as Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and Fontys. Students and staff are asked to “be vigilant for potential phishing emails following the data breach”, writes the umbrella organisation UNL.
Following the hack on Odido, the government issued urgent advice not to pay hackers any ransom. It is quite possible that hackers will not keep their promises. ‘Paying ransom sustains the criminals’ business model,’ wrote the Minister of Justice and Security, David van Weel, at the time. (HOP, NB)
- TU Delft does not use Canvas, but instead relies on the alternative platform Brightspace. TU Delft students who are undertaking a dual degree programme at one of the affected universities (such as Erasmus University) are advised to follow the updates issued by the relevant institution.
Once again, a graduate of a university of applied sciences (hbo) has lost a court case regarding the basic grant (and supplementary grant) for a university master’s degree. ‘Those are simply the rules,’ the judge ruled, adding that only politicians can change them.
It remains a curious situation: after a bachelor’s degree at a university of applied sciences, you do receive a basic grant for a master’s degree at a university of applied sciences, but not for a master’s degree at a university. Conversely, university bachelor’s students actually receive an extra year of basic grant if they opt for a master’s degree at a university of applied sciences. This is a consequence of how the rules for student finance are structured.
Earlier this year, it emerged that an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives wants to amend the system. Education Minister Rianne Letschert is set to discuss the matter with the House of Representatives.
Last September, 5,700 students with a higher professional education (HBO) background began a university master’s degree. That is 10 per cent of all new master’s students at university. A further 1,200 hbo students will join them later in the year.
In 2023, the Ministry estimated that the changes would cost 60 million euros per year in basic grants, supplementary grants and student travel passes.
Hbo students perform well in university master’s programmes. They often graduate faster than fellow students who have completed a university bachelor’s degree.
HOP, BB
What do sugar, gravel, flowers and fish have in common? They are all poetic names for different types of shallow clouds. According to climate researcher Pouriya Alinaghi, these cloud patterns are not only beautiful but also influence the climate and should therefore be included in climate models.
Climate researcher Pouriya Alinaghi (CiTG) is fascinated by clouds. “Not only are they beautiful to look at, but they also have a significant impact on the climate.” For his PhD, Alinaghi studied how cloud patterns form and whether such patterns – even with the same overall cloud cover – regulate the Earth’s energy balance. “These types of cloud patterns are relatively too small to be represented in typical climate models which have coarse resolutions of about 100 km. This is one of the reasons why climate models show an uncertainty of 2 to 5 degrees Celsius when CO₂ doubles. In our latest article in PNAS, we created high-resolution (100-meter) atmospheric simulations. These show that including patterns on the mesoscale – from tens to a few hundred kilometers – is important for determining how cool our current climate is.”
Not only clouds themselves, but also their patterns influence the climate, discovered climate researcher Pouriya Alinaghi (CEG). Video made by Milan Caignie.
A major fire at a data centre in Almere has caused disruptions at Utrecht University. Students and staff are unable to log in to the institution’s websites and applications. The university magazine DUB is also offline.
The fire broke out Thursday morning in a data centre in Almere, which also houses servers belonging to Utrecht University. According to the university, this has caused network problems. This is having a major impact on “the day-to-day work, research and teaching of and for staff and students”.
The first problems arose around nine o’clock this morning, says a university spokesperson: “Students and staff were unable to log in to websites and applications.” The exact impact is still being assessed.
The university magazine DUB is also experiencing problems. “Shortly after nine o’clock, the website went offline,” says editor-in-chief Bas Mesters. “We can’t even get into our office, because the door opens electrically and that system isn’t working. So we’re now working in the corridor and partly from home. We’re really at a loss for the moment.”
The university is currently advising its students and staff to “stay logged into the UU systems as much as possible, as logging in again may prevent you from accessing the system”. (HOP, NB)
Liberation Day is on a Tuesday this year, but for the student travel pass, 5 May is not a weekday. Students need to bear this in mind if they wish to use their weekly or weekend passes.
Universities and universities of applied sciences are closed on Liberation Day, as it is a public holiday. Students therefore have plenty of time to go to a Liberation Day festival.
If they wish to travel by public transport for this, they need to take note: a weekly ticket only offers a discount, whereas they can travel for free if they have a weekend pass.
What counts as a public holiday?
The DUO student finance website (in Dutch) only states that students will receive a discount on public holidays with a weekly pass and can travel for free with a weekly pass. But what counts as a public holiday?
Everyone knows the deal with Christmas and Easter, but other holidays can be a bit of a grey area. Last month, all students could travel for free on Good Friday, regardless of their travel pass.
But that’s the only exception. Next Thursday, 14 May, for example, is Ascension Day. This is an official public holiday, so with a weekly travel pass, students only get a discount.
Last week was King’s Day, which was also a public holiday. So if students took the bus to the flea market, they had to pay with their weekly travelcard but could travel for free with their weekend travelcard. The same applies tomorrow on Liberation Day.
HOP, Bas Belleman
On Tuesday 5 May, the fourth edition of the Delft Liberation Festival (Bevrijdingsfestival) will take place on the Doelenplein. The festival is organised by six TU Delft students in collaboration with the Delftvrij Foundation.
Between 13:00 and 23:45, there will be performances by local artists. The programme includes student bands Groover Big Band and Phoenix Funk Foundation. Films about freedom will be screened at the Lumen cinema, and visitors can view an exhibition featuring artefacts from the Second World War. There will also be activities for children, such as face painting, colouring and having colourful braids done.
A fire broke out on Thursday evening in a student house on the Lange Geer. No one was injured, but the property sustained significant damage.
The fire brigade received a report of the fire at around 9.25 pm. The emergency services arrived quickly and had the fire under control shortly afterwards. This prevented the fire from spreading to neighbouring properties.
Bystanders told news website Regio15 that there were reportedly no working smoke alarms in the flat. This may have meant the fire was not discovered until late. The cause of the fire is not yet known.
From the coming academic year, students will pay €2,694 for their course at a university of applied sciences or a university, and from September 2027 this will most likely rise to €2,771. This is according to inflation figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
The Department for Education determines the new rate based on inflation over a one-year period: from May 2025 to April 2026. The average inflation rate during that period was 2.85%. The Department will announce the official new rate sometime in the coming months.
This applies only to the statutory tuition fee. In principle, the government funds one bachelor’s and one master’s degree. Anyone wishing to undertake a second degree must pay the institutional tuition fee, which universities and universities of applied sciences are free to set at their own discretion and which is usually thousands of euros higher.
There are, however, exceptions for retraining in healthcare or education, given the staff shortages in those sectors. Arrangements have also been made for students undertaking two degrees: they are permitted to complete both degrees at the standard rate.
HOP, Bas Belleman
After the summer, Princess Ariane starts studying Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft. She announced this during King’s Day celebrations in Dokkum.
In an interview with broadcaster NOS, the princess described it as “a tremendous opportunity, which I am very happy about”. The Aerospace Engineering programme, which has a numerus fixus, admits 440 students each year. Applicants must go through a selection procedure to qualify.
The youngest daughter of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima is currently taking a gap year. Last summer, she obtained her International Baccalaureate at the United World College Adriatic in Italy. This qualification provides access to Dutch and international universities and is comparable to a Dutch pre-university (VWO) diploma.
After the summer, Princess Ariane will be joining a family member on campus. Her cousin, Countess Zaria of Oranje-Nassau, also studies at TU Delft, although her degree programme has not been disclosed. Previously, her father, Prince Friso, studied Aerospace Engineering in Delft from 1988 to 1994.
Israel is participating less and less in Horizon Europe research: funding has more than halved, from €303 million in 2022 to €119 million last year. This is reported by the European news site Science Business. European countries are less keen to collaborate with Israeli institutions due to the war in Gaza.
The 2022 figures do, however, need to be put into perspective. Due to delays, Horizon Europe could not start until later. Part of the funding from 2021 was allocated in 2022, and in addition, extra funds were available that year from the COVID-19 recovery fund.
In the Netherlands, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) is calling for Israel to be suspended from Horizon. The European Commission wanted to exclude Israel from the innovation programme within Horizon Europe, but that proposal was voted down.
Fewer and fewer universities are willing to collaborate with Israeli institutions due to their links with the military. In the Netherlands, several universities have suspended ties with Israeli universities and companies, including Radboud University, TU Delft and Utrecht University. Leiden University also decided this week to review its ties.
Israel also received fewer ERC grants last year, for which individual researchers can apply. With an average success rate of 21 per cent, Israel had been the frontrunner for years, but the number of grants awarded has fallen significantly.
Israeli universities warn that severing ties will lead to the isolation of Israeli academics, including scientists who are critical of the Netanyahu government.
HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff
