Major Data Breach at Columbia University Exposes 2.5 Million Applications
Columbia University faces a major data breach, with an estimated 2.5 million applications compromised. The stolen data spans decades and includes sensitive information such as acceptance status, ID numbers, and financial aid packages. The incident could raise concerns about admissions diversity and may impact the university's federal funding negotiations.
The breach, claimed by a hacker in June, affects around 1.6 gigabytes of data and approximately 869,000 individuals. Stolen information includes personal data like Social Security numbers, as well as application details such as academic programs applied to and citizenship status. The hacker also took responsibility for previous cybersecurity incidents at the University of Minnesota and New York University.
The alleged hacker, who claims to be a hacktivist, targeted Columbia's admissions data following a 2023 Supreme Court decision on affirmative action. Columbia University experienced a systemwide outage on June 24, which the hacker claims responsibility for. The university has engaged cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike to investigate the breach.
The data breach at Columbia University exposes sensitive information of millions of individuals, potentially impacting admissions diversity discussions and federal funding negotiations. The university is working with cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident and mitigate its effects.
