Harvard hacked in most recent case of Ivy League cyberattacks

A Harvard University database of alumni, donors, some students and faculty was accessed by “an unauthorized party” after a phone phishing attack, the latest cyberattack on Ivy League schools and the second time Harvard has investigated a breach this year.

The breach, which happened Tuesday, includes personal contact information, donation details and other data from fundraising and alumni engagement, Harvard said on its website.

Harvard is the oldest and richest US university and is a fundraising powerhouse, typically raising more than $1 billion annually. In October, Harvard said it was investigating reports that its data was compromised in a hacking campaign targeting Oracle Corp. customers.


Harvard doesn’t know who’s responsible for the attack, Tim Bailey, director of communications at Harvard University Information Technology, said in an emailed statement.

Harvard “acted immediately to remove the attacker’s access to our systems and prevent further unauthorized access,” Bailey said. “We are working with third-party cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to investigate this incident.”

US colleges have been a hacker target for years, though Ivy League schools have been especially hard-hit in recent months.

A Princeton University database with information on alumni, donors, students and other members of the school’s community was compromised on Nov. 15. The University of Pennsylvania discovered that a some information systems “related to Penn’s development and alumni activities” were compromised on Oct. 31.

Columbia University started investigating in June a hack that compromised the personal information of about 870,000 people including students and applicants, according to the school’s reports to state officials.