HackingEducationEducationVulnerability ExploitCapture Stored DataData ExfiltratedCustomer Data InvolvedTargetedIdentity (basic)Government IDFinancial accountHealth (basic)HighContained

Columbia University

bd_2337be0c0546ca35 · schema v1 · pii pii-v1

Severity

High

Discovered

Jun 24, 2025

Filed

Aug 8, 2025

To disclose

6 weeks

Affected

1,572state residents only

Linked

15 filings

Confidence

66%

Full breach record for Columbia University →7 incidents on file

Columbia University notified the Iowa Attorney General of a cybersecurity incident where an unauthorized third party accessed the network via a publicly-exposed system on or about May 16, 2025. The breach affected approximately 1,572 Iowa residents, exposing names, SSNs, dates of birth, and financial/academic data. Columbia notified law enforcement, blocked access, reset passwords, and offered 24 months of credit monitoring.

J jump to incidentP pin to compareR raw source

Iowa clock✓ IA AG ≤5 bday6 weeks discovery → filing

⚠ unattributedNo provenance was recorded for this discovery date and it matches no other date on the record. It may be correct, but it is not independently grounded.

Incident timeline

undetected · 39 days

discovery → filing · 6 weeks / 45 days

May 16, 2025

Begins

Jun 24, 2025

Discovered

Aug 8, 2025

Filed

vs. sector median

2 wks faster

This filing is one of 15 about the same incident.View merged incident

Linked disclosures

Why this link?

Regulatory filings (10) · sorted by filing gap

Maine State AGbd_07533b0c85ac791c2025-08-07 · +1dCandidate
Massachusetts State AGbd_0e780a9cd65865c92025-08-07 · +1dVerified
Washington State AGbd_2c8504262b9c10eb2025-08-07 · +1dVerified
Indiana State AGbd_44bbed6c166a9c6d2025-08-07 · +1dVerified

Show 6 more filings ↓up to 18d gap

Nebraska State AGbd_4af6126d602d67a62025-08-07 · +1dVerified
Delaware State AGbd_82648491a36c0afc2025-08-07 · +1dVerified
Montana State AGbd_88b5b3d68c5a023a2025-08-07 · +1dVerified
Vermont State AGbd_9b1ee72034df1e552025-08-07 · +1dVerified
New Hampshire State AGbd_1de0d58aeabac3772025-08-12 · +4dVerified
Rhode Island State AGbd_d3027779956216f92025-08-26 · +18dVerified

Showing first 10 of 14 linked disclosures.

Name: Columbia University
norm: columbia university

Name: Columbia University
norm: columbia university
Industry: Educationllm

Discovered: Jun 24, 2025
Breach occurred: May 16, 2025
Undetected for: 39 daysoccurrence → discovery
Materiality determined: —
Notification sent: Aug 7, 2025
Affected individuals: 1,572state-resident count only
Data types: Identity (basic)Government IDFinancial accountHealth (basic)
Data elements: Social Security numberDate of birth
Attack vector: Unauthorized Access
MITRE ATT&CK: T1190 Exploit Public-Facing ApplicationT1041 Exfiltration Over C2 Channel
Threat actor: ExternalFinancial
Regulator citations: Notified law enforcement
Initial access: exploit_public_facing

During the incident: Activated its incident response protocols
Notified law enforcement
Launched an investigation
Identified and blocked the unauthorized actor’s access to the network
Took certain ports offline to prevent further unauthorized access
Reset passwords for any known compromised accounts
Deployed additional endpoint detection and response tools
Changes made: Offering 24 months of complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services through Kroll
Established a dedicated call center to answer individuals’ questions
Examining what additional steps can be taken and additional safeguards can be implemented
Source: Quoted from the filing itself, not independently verified.

Time to disclose: 6 weeks(45 days from discovery to filing)
Compliance flags: IA AG ≤5 bday
Discovery-date grounding: unattributedNo provenance was recorded for this discovery date and it matches no other date on the record. It may be correct, but it is not independently grounded.

Status: No extraction artifact recorded for this disclosure.

Filing propagation · 11 filings · 11 states

View merged incident ↗

Maine State AGAug 7 · first

Massachusetts State AGAug 7 · first

Washington State AGAug 7 · first

Indiana State AGAug 7 · first

Nebraska State AGAug 7 · first

Delaware State AGAug 7 · first

Montana State AGAug 7 · first

Vermont State AGAug 7 · first

Iowa State AG+1d · this page

New Hampshire State AG+5d

Rhode Island State AG+19d

Pattern: first filing Aug 7 (ME), last Aug 26 (RI) — a 19-day rolling notification. Rolling spreads often mean counsel is filing as thresholds trip per state. Why this link?

Cascade drawn from the first 10 linked disclosures of 14 — the full spread may be wider.

Evidence ladder

Leak-site claim

Attacker assertion only. Establishes: claim date, group, alleged victim.

Press / market report

Unlocks: incident narrative, operational impact. Still no compliance clock.

State AG / regulator filingThis record

Unlocks: discovery date, data types, affected count, compliance clock.

SEC 8-K / victim statement

Unlocks: materiality, stated response, full audit trail. Ceiling removed.

Source URL: https://www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov/media/cms/882025_Columbia_University_8F543BE49BE96.pdf
DisclosureLens links to the originating regulator URL — full filing bodies are not redistributed from public surfaces (§4.5).
Filed at: Aug 8, 2025
Raw hash: 888c2e5388445651a327bcfc2c8c899b50b9fe0279ae4ff1cf45b4e3115ec413

Linked disclosures

Regulatory filings (10) · sorted by filing gap

Reporting entityColumbia University

Victim entityColumbia University

Incidentdiscovered Jun 24, 2025

Stated responseActivated its incident response protocols

ComplianceIA AG ≤5 bday

Extraction provenanceno artifact recorded

Source provenancewww.iowaattorneygeneral.gov