Cyberattack disrupts networks at Columbia University

A cyberattack at Columbia University put the institution’s IT systems in states of intermittent outage, The Record reported last week. 

The incident led the New York Police Department to aid in the investigation. A school spokesperson said the incident affected the university’s Morningside campus in Manhattan. That building is chiefly used as student housing, but it also includes the university’s Center for Career Education, a facilities management office and its Heyman Center for the Humanities.

Numerous students reported online being unable to access various school applications. The spokesperson said that no medical facilities had been affected. 

According to The Record, several other institutions, including the University of Oklahoma and Western New Mexico University, faced outages this year after similar cyberattacks.

Research published last March shows that educational institutions represent the most targeted sector for cyberattacks in the United States.