Hacktivism Is a Growing Threat to Higher Education

• By JP Castellanos
• 08/27/25

In recent years, colleges and universities have faced an evolving array of cybersecurity challenges. But one threat is showing signs of becoming both more frequent and more politically charged: hacktivism.

Hacktivism, or cyberattacks driven by political, ideological, or social motivations, is not new to higher education. In the past decade, campuses have been hit by everything from website defacements to distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) campaigns aimed at disrupting events. In some cases, these attacks have been conducted by students or alumni; in others, they’ve been launched by global actors with no direct tie to the institution.

However, recent events suggest that higher ed leaders can no longer view hacktivism as an occasional nuisance. Instead, it is fast becoming a persistent, high-impact risk.

A Warning Sign: Columbia University’s Recent Breach

In June, Columbia University suffered a targeted cyber attack that stole millions of past admissions records. The self-described hacktivist claimed the goal was to expose whether Columbia continued race-based admissions after the Supreme Court’s 2023 affirmative action ban. University officials called the attack sophisticated and politically motivated.

The breach didn’t occur in a vacuum. At the time, Columbia was already under intense scrutiny on several fronts: federal investigations into its affirmative action practices post-SCOTUS ruling; $400 million in federal research funds frozen over mishandled antisemitism complaints; and restrictions on campus protests amid mounting political and public pressure.

Just months earlier, New York University suffered a similar politically charged intrusion in which its website was briefly replaced with what appeared to be admissions data and a racial epithet. 

These cases reflect a broader pattern of ideologically motivated attacks on academic institutions, often intended to advance political or geopolitical agendas. In the U.S., Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have faced repeated “swatting” incidents meant to intimidate and disrupt. Globally, universities in the U.K., Australia, and Israel have also become symbolic targets in geopolitical conflicts.

The Next Phase of Hacktivism in Higher Ed

The rise in hacktivist activity is occurring against a backdrop of heightened political polarization and significant changes in federal policy toward higher education. These shifts have created new fault lines that bad actors may exploit.

It’s important to note that this is not a one-sided threat. Hacktivist targeting can come from across the political spectrum, shaped by the narratives that dominate each side’s discourse:

• Right-leaning attackers could target institutions they believe are defying new federal directives on admissions, diversity programs, or campus speech. Recent right-wing narratives have centered on issues like COVID-19, election fraud claims, foreign aid, and immigration, sometimes fueled by misinformation.
• Left-leaning attackers, meanwhile, could target schools seen as supporting such directives. Left-wing narratives often focus on police brutality, systemic racism, economic inequality, and the Israel-Gaza conflict, sometimes accusing institutions of siding with corporations, the wealthy, or governments at the expense of social justice.