An update regarding our website issues and apologies for any inconvenience caused.
This morning at 6.15am (UK Time), our website and forty other UK Students' Unions were victims of a DDoS Cyber Attack.
With it being the launch day for Elections voting - we assumed that the website was down due to a high level of traffic but our website provider (MSL) quickly alerted us to this coordinated attack.
We continued to see the website come up and go down again a number of times throughout the morning - but it now appears to be more stable.
We wanted to let you know that your data is safe, and if that changes then we will let you know as soon as possible. These attacks are designed to restrict access to websites, and all your data is stored securely with our provider.
Whilst we've seen a fantastic number of votes already cast in this year's Elections, this downtime will have a significant impact on students who are studying in other countries, especially those in significantly different time zones. We also understand that candidates were primed and ready to direct everyone to the website - which may or may not have been operational at that time.
We are continuing to work with our website provider to ensure that further attacks can be blocked, or that if attacks do occur then downtime is minimal. We have changed our details and moved our website over to a brand new IP address to ensure that we can operate as normal.
Our advice right now is to continue to check the website throughout the day and to vote as early as you possibly can. Dont forget, you can win some awesome prizes and of course, know that your voice has made a difference to the student leaders we employ to lead the organisation!