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The University of California confirmed that attackers accessed personal information in a cyberattack involving Accellion’s File Transfer Appliance (FTA), according to a SecurityWeek report published May 11, 2021. The incident was reported as part of attacks against organizations using FTA in late December 2020. It is separate from UC’s May 2026 Canvas incident.

What information was stolen in the UC cyberattack?

SecurityWeek reported that the attackers obtained personal information and that some stolen information had been published online. The information potentially included:

  • Names, addresses, phone numbers and birthdates
  • Social Security numbers, driver’s license details and passport information
  • Financial details, including bank routing and account numbers
  • Health and benefits information, disability information and other data

These are possible categories, not a claim that every affected person’s record contained every item. The report did not establish which specific data belonged to each person.

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Was my Social Security number exposed?

The 2021 report included Social Security numbers among the types of information that may have been accessed, but it does not establish whether a particular person’s number was exposed. Check the specific notice you received from UC for your status and any instructions. The reviewed report does not provide a current contact channel or individual lookup tool.

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Who was affected by the University of California data breach?

The groups potentially represented in the exposed data included current and former UC employees and their dependents, retirees and beneficiaries, current students, and other people who participated in UC programs. SecurityWeek’s report did not give a final affected-person count.

What did UC say it was doing?

As reported in May 2021, UC said it was working with the FBI, notifying affected people, identifying whose information was impacted and locating contact details. UC also said it was separately notifying people who started or completed applications for the 2021–22 school year when their contact information was affected.

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SecurityWeek reproduced this statement from UC about applicant notifications: “We are also separately notifying individuals who started or completed applications for the 2021-22 school year whose contact information (name, email address and phone number) was impacted. Their notification will contain information pertinent to those individuals.”

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The report also said UC had decommissioned Accellion FTA, was transitioning to another file-transfer solution and was taking steps to improve network security. These are actions described in the 2021 report, not a verified account of UC’s current security posture.

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Is this the same as the Canvas breach?

No. The Accellion FTA incident concerns the late-December 2020 attack described in SecurityWeek’s May 11, 2021 report. A separate UCnet update dated May 2026 concerns Instructure, the maker of Canvas. That update described a suspicious message displayed on the Canvas login page, temporary access blocks or redirects, and the later restoration of access across UC locations. It did not state that personal information was stolen.

In the separate 2026 Canvas notice, UCnet said: “The university will never ask for passwords, Social Security numbers, birthdates, or bank account information through email, text, or phone calls.” That warning belongs to the Canvas update; it is not an update on the 2021 Accellion incident.

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