Columbia University Applicants’ Personal Data Stolen by Hacker

Personal information about Columbia University students and applicants — including whether they were accepted or rejected by the school — has been stolen, according to a Bloomberg News review of data provided by a person who claimed to have hacked the school in June.

The 1.6-gigabyte volume of data provided to Bloomberg represents 2.5 million applications dating back decades, according to the alleged hacker. It includes students’ and applicants’ university-issued identification numbers, citizenship status, decisions on their applications, the academic programs to which they applied, among other things. Bloomberg confirmed the accuracy of the data for eight Columbia students and alumni who applied to Columbia between 2019 and 2024.