New York University‘s website was reportedly hacked on Saturday, with its homepage replaced by a message displaying alleged student test scores and a racial epithet.
Instead of the usual interface, the compromised site showed a statement alongside charts that claimed to display SAT and ACT scores, as well as GPAs for students in 2024, categorised by race.
The message referenced the US Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling that declared racial affirmative action in college admissions illegal. It read, “On June 29, 2023, racial affirmative action in college admissions was ruled illegal. Computer N–gy Exploitation (CNE) reveals NYU continued anyway.”
It remains unclear whether the hacker, identified by the handle “@niggy” on X, also gained unauthorized access to NYU’s database. The individual has a history of targeting academic institutions, previously claiming responsibility for a 2003 cyberattack on the University of Minnesota’s website.
“There’s a lot more data from their data warehouse that could be analyzed further,” @niggy wrote on X. “I only posted (redacted) bare minimum to prove they’re breaking the law.”
The alleged leaked data suggested that Asian students performed better on standardized tests, while white students had higher GPAs. The phrase “TOP SECRET//NIGINT//NONORM” appeared at the top of the defaced site, though its significance remains unknown.
NYU has not yet issued an official statement regarding the incident.
