My SSN was exposed in a breach at Columbia—a school I have no connection with

**TL;DR:** My SSN was exposed in a breach at Columbia—a school I have no connection with

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A weird text from my dad in February sent me on a months-long quest to solve a mystery that has been troubling an odd group of victims from a Columbia University data breach last year. That group? People with absolutely no connection to the school. The text included a photo of a letter from Columbia, informing me that I was a victim of a data breach last June, one that

exposed a wide range of sensitive information, including 1.8 million Social Security numbers. Columbia's public notices about the breach were addressed exclusively to "members of the Columbia community." In the notices, Columbia warned that an "unauthorized party obtained information about students and applicants related to admissions, enrollment, and financial aid processes, as well as certain personal information associated with some Columbia employees." Major news reports that followed only referenced people

affiliated with Columbia as victims, while pointing out that the hacktivist behind the breach was reportedly motivated to expose Columbia's history of "affirmative action-based" admissions. Read full article Comments

Source: Ars Technica Features

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**Q: Is everything in this article confirmed?** A: The summary reflects publicly reported information at publication time. Analysis sections are clearly framed as context, not new reporting.

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Last updated: June 16, 2026.

Additional context: early-cycle stories often look bigger in headlines than in day-to-day impact. The useful move is to identify the smallest set of facts that would change your decision, then wait for those facts to land.

Additional context: early-cycle stories often look bigger in headlines than in day-to-day impact. The useful move is to identify the smallest set of facts that would change your decision, then wait for those facts to land.