Hacker Stole Columbia University Students’ Data in Politically Motivated Cyberattack, Official Says

A university official said the data breach was carried out by a highly sophisticated ‘hacktivist’ targeting specific documents.

Students sit on the front steps of Low Memorial Library on the Columbia University campus in New York City, on Feb. 10, 2023. Ted Shaffrey, File /AP Photo

A hacker broke into Columbia University’s IT systems last week and stole student data in a cyberattack that officials believe was politically motivated.

The breach, which occurred on June 24, caused a systemwide outage that temporarily locked students and faculty out of online platforms, including their university email accounts.