New York University

A cyber attack at New York University resulted in personal data exposure of over 1 million students. The hacker replaced the NYU homepage, inadvertently leaking sensitive information including full names, addresses, phone numbers, GPA, email addresses, and citizenship status. The breach exposed data dating back to 1989, affecting applicants and potentially financial aid details. The incident is being investigated by NYU’s IT team and law enforcement. The attack is part of a response to a Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, aiming to show continued preferential admissions, but has caused significant privacy implications for the individuals affected.

Source: https://therecord.media/hacker-nyu-website-admissions-race

TPRM report: https://scoringcyber.rankiteo.com/company/new-york-university

"id": "new423032525",
"linkid": "new-york-university",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "3/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Over 1 million students',
                        'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'New York, USA',
                        'name': 'New York University',
                        'type': 'Educational Institution'}],
 'attack_vector': 'Website Defacement',
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': 'Over 1 million',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': ['Full names',
                                                         'Addresses',
                                                         'Phone numbers',
                                                         'Email addresses',
                                                         'Citizenship status'],
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personal Information',
                                              'Academic Information',
                                              'Financial Information']},
 'description': 'A cyber attack at New York University resulted in personal '
                'data exposure of over 1 million students. The hacker replaced '
                'the NYU homepage, inadvertently leaking sensitive information '
                'including full names, addresses, phone numbers, GPA, email '
                'addresses, and citizenship status. The breach exposed data '
                'dating back to 1989, affecting applicants and potentially '
                'financial aid details. The incident is being investigated by '
                'NYU’s IT team and law enforcement. The attack is part of a '
                'response to a Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, '
                'aiming to show continued preferential admissions, but has '
                'caused significant privacy implications for the individuals '
                'affected.',
 'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Significant privacy implications',
            'data_compromised': ['Full names',
                                 'Addresses',
                                 'Phone numbers',
                                 'GPA',
                                 'Email addresses',
                                 'Citizenship status',
                                 'Financial aid details'],
            'systems_affected': 'NYU Homepage'},
 'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'NYU Homepage'},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
 'motivation': 'Response to a Supreme Court decision on affirmative action',
 'response': {'law_enforcement_notified': 'Yes'},
 'threat_actor': 'Unknown',
 'title': 'Data Breach at New York University',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}