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Columbia University Restores Systems After Politically Motivated Data Breach

Columbia has enlisted a leading cyberforensics firm alongside federal investigators to assess how the cyberattack exposed personal records.

FILE - Students sit on the front steps of Low Memorial Library on the Columbia University campus in New York City, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
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Pedestrians walk by Columbia University in Upper Manhattan.
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Overview

  • Over two million students, applicants and employees had identification numbers, citizenship status, admissions decisions and other personal data stolen in the June 24 hack.
  • The attack triggered campus-wide outages that locked users out of email, coursework and video-conference platforms for several hours.
  • Public monitors across the Manhattan campus briefly displayed images of President Donald Trump during the outage, though Columbia has not linked the display to the data theft.
  • By June 29, most IT systems were restored, and officials report no further suspicious activity on the network since the breach.
  • Officials say they will notify all individuals whose information was compromised once the forensics review is complete.