NEW YORK — A politically motivated hacker breached Columbia University’s data systems last week, stealing troves of student documents while briefly shutting down the school’s computer systems, a university official said Wednesday.
The June 24 cyberattack prompted widespread network outages on campus, locking students and staff out of their email accounts, coursework and video conference software for several hours. On the same day, images of President Donald Trump’s smiling face appeared on several public monitors across the Manhattan campus.
A spokesperson for Columbia declined to elaborate on the political motivations behind the attack. But officials described a highly sophisticated “hacktivist” who had gained access to private student records in an attempt to further 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.”
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