Harvard University
Cambridge, United States3 sources
Confirmed:Confirmed by the organisation, a regulator or a securities filing. First reported 3 Nov 2026.
ShinyHunters claims Harvard breach exposing 850,500 accounts
The ShinyHunters extortion gang claimed responsibility for an attack on Harvard University's Alumni Affairs and Development systems, accessed through phone-based phishing. Leaked data includes names, emails, birth dates, phone numbers, addresses, donation details and event attendance, with Have I Been Pwned counting 850,500 unique accounts.
- Type
- Data breach
- Sector
- Education
- Records
- 851K records confirmed
- Attributed to
- ShinyHunters
- First reported
- 3 Nov 2026
- Latest source
- 3 Nov 2026
What to do
- If you have an account, change that password, and anywhere you reused it.
- Turn on two-factor authentication, ideally an authenticator app or passkey, not SMS.
- Expect phishing that uses your real details. Do not click links in messages about this incident; go to the company's site directly.
- If payment cards were involved, watch statements and ask your bank for a new card.
- If government ID or social security numbers were involved, consider a credit freeze.
- If this is a vendor of yours, ask what of your data they held and whether it was in scope.
- Reset any API keys, SSO trusts or shared credentials you have with them.
- Brief your help desk: attackers often impersonate the breached brand next.
Not sure? Ask an assistant with the sources attached, or have a coding agent check your systems.
Check your systems for Harvard University