Columbia University opens claims for 16.1 million dollar data breach settlement
Columbia University, the Ivy League school in New York, opened claims for a 16.1 million dollar settlement.
The short version
- Affected individuals can claim credit monitoring and cash payments.
- Claims are due January 21, 2027.
- Check if your personal data was exposed.
Columbia University, the Ivy League school in New York, just opened the window for individuals impacted by last year's massive data breach to claim a piece of a 16.1 million dollar settlement. The university agreed to settle a proposed class action after a cybersecurity incident exposed private information belonging to millions of people, according to Insurance Journal.
The Manhattan-based school tallies roughly 3.1 million individuals affected by the breach, up from an earlier count of 870,000. The compromised files included Social Security numbers, home addresses, financial-account details, academic histories and medical records. After Columbia discovered the incident in June 2025, hackers continued to strike other Ivy League peers through the end of the year, leaving behind a trail of exposed data at the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College.
Columbia officials said they found no evidence the cyber-attack was financially motivated or that the data was sold on the dark web. Affected individuals are now eligible for credit monitoring, identity-theft restoration services and cash payments. If your data was swept up in the breach, claims are due on January 21, 2027. Take a close look at your mailbox or inbox for the official notification before the deadline arrives.
