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Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Potential cyberattack scrambles computers at Columbia University
Advertisement But the Columbia official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly, said that while the images appeared during the outage, they could not be definitively connected to the broader cyberattack. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The official also said that the school was not aware of any claim of responsibility for the potential attack and that posts by an online group asserting responsibility on Tuesday had been discredited. Columbia said it had notified local and federal law enforcement agencies about the attack. As of Wednesday, the university official said, there was no evidence that data had been compromised, no indication of ransomware and no sign of a deep incursion into Columbia's information systems. The clinical systems at the school's medical center were not affected, the official said. Advertisement American officials have warned of the potential for cyberattacks by Iran following the bombing of its nuclear facilities by the United States last week. There was no indication that this attack was linked to Iran. Universities have become increasingly common targets of cyberattacks, because their systems house a wealth of personal information and valuable research, and because their large number of users leaves them vulnerable. A Bank of America report found that cyberattacks against higher education had increased 114% between 2020 and 2022. Attacks on educational institutions often involve ransomware, a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid, according to a report by Malwarebytes, a cybersecurity firm. Michael Thaddeus, a Columbia mathematician who was attempting to do some research on Wednesday, called the attack inconvenient and suspicious. 'To find a book, I had to guess whether it would be in Columbia's holdings and look up its call number at the Library of Congress,' he said. 'It raises my eyebrows -- I wish I knew who is responsible.' This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Columbia struggles to make headway with Trump admin despite praise over protest
Columbia University is increasingly acting in accordance with the Trump administration's wishes, but with little to show for it so far. After a group of students stormed the school's library and refused to leave last week, the president of the university called in the New York Police Department (NYPD), leading to almost 80 arrests. More than 65 students have been suspended and 33 people were barred from campus over their participation. While praise came quickly from the White House, hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding paused by the government was not restarted and members of the Columbia community are denouncing the school's actions, which also include giving into the administration's original demands for the funding but so far seeing nothing in return. 'I think what happened was enormous overreaction by the university and by the New York City Police Department,' said Michael Thaddeus, professor of mathematics at Columbia and vice-president of the Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors. 'This harsh and severe response by the university seems to be a response to pressure from the government,' he added. The quick call to the NYPD and swift discipline for students mark a stark difference from how protests were handled last spring, when Columbia's administration attempted to negotiate with students and only involved law enforcement as a last resort. Those 2024 demonstrations infuriated Republicans, with pro-Palestinian activists from Columbia and multiple other schools specifically targeted in President Trump's crackdown on international scholars. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said 'it's pretty clear that Columbia' gave in to the 'Trump regime by bringing in the NYPD quickly, never engaging in negotiations with students, sweeping up everybody, including students who were studying at the library, and without a hearing or even asking any questions about their involvement.' Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Columbia said the university has been 'preparing for incidents like this' and the 'actions were in line with the enhanced protocols we've put in place in recent months.' 'Our priority was to prevent further escalation, ensure safety, and allow the Columbia community to return to its academic mission with minimal disruption,' the spokesperson said. The White House's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism released a statement saying acting school president Claire Shipman 'met the moment with fortitude and conviction' and it 'is confident that Columbia will take the appropriate disciplinary actions for those involved in this act.' But despite openly agreeing nearly two months ago to the Trump administration's demands — including hiring more campus police officers, banning masks and putting certain department in academic receivership — Columbia appears no closer to the restoration of some $400 million in federal funds. That funding freeze has resulted in at least 180 job cuts so far, but perceived efforts to curry favor with Trump are producing fury among the student population. 'Columbia University is participating in the destruction of the democratic system,' student and Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, who was recently released from Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) detention, told The Associated Press. 'They are supporting the initiatives and the agenda of the Trump administration, and they are punishing and torturing their students.' Mahdawi, like fellow Columbia demonstrator Mahmoud Khalil, is still being targeted for deportation by the Trump administration, which accuses their school of allowing antisemitism and them of supporting Hamas. If there's a school that has taken an opposite approach from Columbia, it's fellow Ivy League member Harvard University, which is suing the Trump administration over its own funding freeze, which it calls illegal. In response, Harvard has lost billions in funding, is under a Title VI investigation and Trump has threatened to revoke the university's tax-exempt status. 'Other schools should look' to Columbia's response to last week's protest as an example to follow, said Roni Brunn, a leading member of the Harvard Jewish Alumni Association. 'You can protect your campus. You can ensure equal rights for all your students, not just the ones who are bullying Jews. Everybody is equal. You can do it. It's highly doable,' Brunn said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Columbia struggles to make headway with Trump admin despite praise over protest
Columbia University is increasingly acting in accordance with the Trump administration's wishes, but with little to show for it so far. After a group of students stormed the school's library and refused to leave last week, the president of the university called in the New York Police Department (NYPD), leading to almost 80 arrests. More than 65 students have been suspended and 33 people were barred from campus over their participation. While praise came quickly from the White House, hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding paused by the government was not restarted and members of the Columbia community are denouncing the school's actions, which also include giving into the administration's original demands for the funding but so far seeing nothing in return. 'I think what happened was enormous overreaction by the university and by the New York City Police Department,' said Michael Thaddeus, professor of mathematics at Columbia and vice-president of the Columbia chapter of the American Association of University Professors. 'This harsh and severe response by the university seems to be a response to pressure from the government,' he added. The quick call to the NYPD and swift discipline for students mark a stark difference from how protests were handled last spring, when Columbia's administration attempted to negotiate with students and only involved law enforcement as a last resort. Those 2024 demonstrations infuriated Republicans, with pro-Palestinian activists from Columbia and multiple other schools specifically targeted in President Trump's crackdown on international scholars. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said 'it's pretty clear that Columbia' gave in to the 'Trump regime by bringing in the NYPD quickly, never engaging in negotiations with students, sweeping up everybody, including students who were studying at the library, and without a hearing or even asking any questions about their involvement.' Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Columbia said the university has been 'preparing for incidents like this' and the 'actions were in line with the enhanced protocols we've put in place in recent months.' 'Our priority was to prevent further escalation, ensure safety, and allow the Columbia community to return to its academic mission with minimal disruption,' the spokesperson said. The White House's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism released a statement saying acting school president Claire Shipman 'met the moment with fortitude and conviction' and it 'is confident that Columbia will take the appropriate disciplinary actions for those involved in this act.' But despite openly agreeing nearly two months ago to the Trump administration's demands — including hiring more campus police officers, banning masks and putting certain department in academic receivership — Columbia appears no closer to the restoration of some $400 million in federal funds. That funding freeze has resulted in at least 180 job cuts so far, but perceived efforts to curry favor with Trump are producing fury among the student population. 'Columbia University is participating in the destruction of the democratic system,' student and Palestinian activist Mohsen Mahdawi, who was recently released from Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) detention, told The Associated Press. 'They are supporting the initiatives and the agenda of the Trump administration, and they are punishing and torturing their students.' Mahdawi, like fellow Columbia demonstrator Mahmoud Khalil, is still being targeted for deportation by the Trump administration, which accuses their school of allowing antisemitism and them of supporting Hamas. If there's a school that has taken an opposite approach from Columbia, it's fellow Ivy League member Harvard University, which is suing the Trump administration over its own funding freeze, which it calls illegal. In response, Harvard has lost billions in funding, is under a Title VI investigation and Trump has threatened to revoke the university's tax-exempt status. 'Other schools should look' to Columbia's response to last week's protest as an example to follow, said Roni Brunn, a leading member of the Harvard Jewish Alumni Association. 'You can protect your campus. You can ensure equal rights for all your students, not just the ones who are bullying Jews. Everybody is equal. You can do it. It's highly doable,' Brunn said.
