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Columbia University Probes System Outage as Possible Cyberattack

Law enforcement has joined the inquiry with early findings revealing no evidence of ransomware or stolen data.

Overview

  • The outage on Tuesday affected IT systems across Columbia’s Upper West Side campus, disrupting academic, administrative and communication platforms.
  • Columbia’s main website went down with an unknown error message, prompting an IT email alert about intermittent service interruptions.
  • The university has engaged law enforcement to support the cyberattack investigation and expedite restoration of services.
  • Officials report there is currently no indication of ransomware activity or compromised data.
  • The incident comes as Columbia navigates a $400 million federal funding cut over antisemitism allegations and leadership turnover.