Privacy Unpacked
Menu

Open for claims

Columbia University data breach settlement

File by 21 January 2027 · 85 days left · the 2025 breach

File on the official site → Filing is free and takes a few minutes.

Claim deadline
21 January 2027 (85 days left)
Submit your Claim Form online or mail your completed paper Claim Form so that it is postmarked by January 21, 2027.
Who can claim
Individuals residing in the United States whose Private Information was compromised in Columbia's May 2025 cyberattack and who were sent notice of it.
What it pays
$16,125,000 settlement. Documented Monetary Losses up to $8,500, OR an Alternative Cash Payment (pro rata share of the remaining fund, amount not yet stated); plus 2 years of three-bureau credit monitoring, dark web monitoring and $1,000,000 identity theft insurance.
Proof needed
No for the Alternative Cash Payment; yes for Documented Monetary Losses.
Final approval hearing
2027-02-23
The case
In re Columbia University Data Breach Litigation, Case No. 1:25-cv-05541 (PKC), U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York · court papers
Official site
columbiauniversitydatasettlement.com
Checked
on the official site on 28 October 2026. Alternative Cash Payment amount is not estimated on the site. Not yet finally approved.

Is this settlement real?

We checked it on its official website, columbiauniversitydatasettlement.com, on 28 October 2026, and quote that site’s own words for the deadline above. The official website is the one named in the court-approved notice; if a letter or email about this settlement points you to a different address, do not use it. Filing is always free: never pay a fee, never give a bank password, and never reply to a message that urges you to “claim now” through another link.

How to file

  1. Open the official site: use the link above, or type the address from your notice.
  2. If you got a notice by letter or email, have it to hand: it usually carries a claim or class member ID that speeds things up. No notice? The site usually says how to check whether you are included.
  3. Pick the benefit you want (a cash payment, reimbursement of losses with receipts, or credit monitoring, as the settlement offers) and submit before the deadline.
  4. Keep the confirmation. Payments come after the court’s final approval and any appeals, often months later, and the amount per person can depend on how many people file.

We are not lawyers, and nobody pays us for this page. Found a mistake? Tell us.

More data breach settlements open for claims

Every open settlement →

From the data breach tracker: official notices, breach databases and the news, every fact with its source. Open data (CC BY 4.0) · How the tracker works · Found a mistake? Tell us and we correct it.