Columbia University Reports Politically Motivated Data Breach Involving Student Information

NEW YORK – Columbia University’s data systems suffered a breach by a politically motivated hacker last week, resulting in the theft of extensive student documents and a temporary disruption of the school’s computer systems, according to a university official.

The cyberattack on June 24 caused significant network outages campus-wide, preventing students and staff from accessing their email, coursework, and video conference applications for several hours. Simultaneously, images of President Donald Trump’s face appeared on various public screens throughout the Manhattan campus.

A Columbia spokesperson declined to provide further details about the attack’s political motivations. However, they characterized the incident as involving a highly sophisticated “hacktivist” who accessed private student records to advance a political agenda.

The spokesperson said it was unclear if the Trump photo display was connected to the data breach.

“We are investigating the scope of the apparent theft and will share our findings with the University community as well as anyone whose personal information was compromised,” the school said.

The cyberattack comes as Columbia remains in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has threatened to pull $400 million in federal funds over what it claims is the school’s failure to protect Jewish students.

Negotiations over a possible settlement are ongoing. The university has already agreed to a host of changes demanded by Trump, including placing its Middle East studies department under new supervision and overhauling its rules for protests and student discipline.

In March, a cyberattack against New York University resulted in student admission records briefly appearing on the school’s website. An online hacker who took credit for that action on social media said the intent was to prove the university was not in compliance with the Supreme Court decision banning affirmative action in college admissions.

An NYU spokesperson said at the time that the data displayed on its webpage was “inaccurate and misleading,” adding that the university “scrupulously complies with the law.”