Hacktivists Breach Columbia University: Political Motives Behind Cyberattack

A politically driven hacker breached Columbia University's systems, causing outages and obtaining student records to advance a political agenda. The attack coincided with Trump images appearing on campus monitors. The incident occurred amid tensions with the Trump administration over alleged failures to protect Jewish students.

A politically motivated cyberattack struck Columbia University last week, locking students and staff out of essential digital resources while prompting disruptions across the campus. An official at the institution confirmed that the breach targeted student records to promote a political cause.

On the same day, images of former President Donald Trump inexplicably appeared on several public monitors across the Manhattan campus. However, it remains unclear whether this was connected to the hackers infiltrating the university's systems.

The incident, which comes during ongoing negotiations with the Trump administration over $400 million in threatened federal funds, highlights the tension between the university and federal authorities. Meanwhile, Columbia University commits to understanding the full scope of the data breach and sharing relevant findings with those affected.

(With inputs from agencies.)