Suspected cyberattack disrupts Columbia University’s network

Columbia University is racing to restore critical digital services after a suspected cyberattack brought down its internal network early Tuesday, disrupting operations for thousands of students and faculty at the prestigious New York City institution.

The outage began around 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time and was confirmed shortly after in a campus-wide alert from Columbia University Information Technology (CUIT), which cited "widespread system outages." University officials say they are working with the New York City Police Department to investigate the incident, though few details have been released.

The disruption has affected key services including the UNI login system, LionMail email accounts, and CourseWorks—the school’s online academic platform. In response, students were advised via a CUIT email to remain logged in to retain access, while faculty were urged to bring course materials on USB drives as a precaution.

The Columbia Spectator, the university’s student-run newspaper, reported that at least one television screen in a campus dorm briefly displayed an image of former U.S. President Donald Trump. The significance of the image remains unclear.

An unnamed group initially claimed responsibility for the outage, but university officials have since dismissed the claim as false. A university spokesperson told the Spectator that Columbia was “aware of online posts from a group claiming responsibility for this outage” but confirmed the statement was "unfounded."

As of Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement had not provided any further comment on the nature of the suspected cyberattack or on the legitimacy of the hacking claim.

The timing of the incident adds further strain to Columbia, which has been embroiled in political controversy and campus unrest in recent months. Since the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israel, Columbia has been at the center of national debate over campus activism, particularly following pro-Palestinian protests that culminated in the occupation of Hamilton Hall earlier this year.

The federal government, under the Trump administration, has taken an increasingly aggressive stance toward the university. Mahmoud Khalil, identified as one of the student leaders of the demonstrations, was recently detained on federal charges including incitement to terrorism and anti-Semitism. The administration has also threatened to revoke $400 million in federal funding over the university’s handling of the protests.

Though Columbia’s spring term concluded in early May, the outage is impacting ongoing summer classes and research programs involving the university’s roughly 34,000 students and 7,000 faculty members.