Was Harvard University hit by ransomware?

Harvard University was listed by the Hunters International ransomware operation (United States), and stolen data was published on the group's leak site. Darkfield tracks this disclosure with the original leak post, screenshot and group context.

Who is the Hunters International ransomware group?

Hunters International is a ransomware operator tracked by Darkfield. See the full operator dossier for its known victims, sectors targeted, IOCs and leak-site infrastructure.

What data was leaked in the Harvard University breach?

Hunters International published data attributed to Harvard University (~1.1 GB). Darkfield captured the leak post and a screenshot of the listing.

Ransomware victim disclosure

← All victims

Harvard University

Claimed by Hunters International · listed 5 months ago

1.1 GB

Data size

Age

since listed · data leaked

Status timeline

ListedFeb 24, 2026
Data leakeddate unknown

At a glance

Group: Hunters International
Status: Data leaked
Country: United States
Sector: Education
Listed on leak site: Feb 24, 2026
Data size: 1.1 GB

About the victim

AI dossier — public-source company profile

Harvard University is one of the world's most prestigious research universities, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, it offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs across a wide range of disciplines and operates numerous research institutes and affiliated hospitals. It employs tens of thousands of faculty, staff, and researchers and maintains one of the largest academic endowments globally.

Industry: Higher Education
Address: Massachusetts Hall, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States
Employees: 10000+
Founded: 1636

Attack summary

Severity: high — Data has been confirmed as published (disclosed status: data_published) following exfiltration from a major research university that handles large volumes of PII, research data, financial records, and potentially regulated academic or medical research data. While the 1.1 GB size is relatively modest, the sensitivity of the institution and confirmed publication elevates severity to high.

Hunters International claims to have exfiltrated approximately 1.1 GB of compressed data from Harvard University and has published the data following an apparent refusal to pay a ransom. The post implies the group made prior contact with the university and is retaliating against advice given to Harvard not to pay.

high

Data the group says was taken

AI dossier — extracted from the leak post

Exfiltrated university data (1.1 GB compressed)
Potentially sensitive institutional or personal records

What the group claims

Size: 1.1GB (compressed) | Updated: 04 Feb 2026 | Note: Make the right decision, don't be the next headline. | This is the direct result of advisors advising you against paying a ransom. It has the opposite effect. Do NOT provoke us again and pay the ransom when we contact you.

Source

Indexed 5 months ago

This page surfaces a public ransomware disclosure indexed by Darkfield. Original posts come from the operator's own leak site; we cross-check against ransomware.live, RansomLook and RansomWatch where applicable. Share this URL freely.

Is this your supplier? Your competitor? You?

Pro plans monitor your domain, corporate emails, and crypto wallets across every new ransomware leak-site post, breach dump and Telegram callout — alerts within 5 minutes.

Disclosure context

About Hunters International

Hunters International is a ransomware group that emerged in October 2023, operating with primarily financial motivations and demonstrating rapid expansion in their victim targeting across multiple sectors. The group's origin and specific affiliations remain largely undocumented by major security agencies, though their operational patterns suggest they function as an independent ransomware operation rather than a established Ransomware-as-a-Service model. Based on publicly available victim data, Hunters International has demonstrated a preference for targeting business services, technology, and manufacturing sectors, with their attacks primarily concentrated in English-speaking countries including the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. Their attack methodology and specific technical capabilities have not been extensively documented by major threat intelligence organizations such as CISA, FBI, or Mandiant, limiting detailed analysis of their initial access vectors, encryption methods, or data exfiltration practices. With 388 documented victims since their emergence, the group has shown consistent activity levels, though specific high-profile campaigns or notable ransom demands have not been widely reported in public threat intelligence reports. As of current reporting, Hunters International appears to remain active with no documented law enforcement disruptions or operational changes reported by major cybersecurity agencies. The group has been linked to 695 public disclosures across our corpus. First observed on a leak site on October 20, 2023; most recent post March 26, 2026. The operation is currently active.

Also tracked as: Hunters.

Timeline of this disclosure

February 24, 2026Harvard University listed by Hunters Internationalon the group's public leak site

Data size: 1.1 GB

Other recent disclosures by Hunters International

Hunters International has been linked to 695 public victims on Darkfield. A sample of the most recent:

See the full Hunters International dossier →

Sector and geography

This disclosure adds to ransomware activity in the Education sector, which has 1,082 disclosures indexed across all operators we track. Geographically, Harvard University is reported in United States, a country with 11,033 ransomware disclosures in our corpus.

If your organisation is affected

A listing by Hunters International means Harvard University appeared on a ransomware extortion site and data attributed to it has been published. If this is your organisation, or a supplier you depend on, the priority is to confirm the intrusion and contain it before the window to act closes.

Engage your incident-response team and preserve forensic evidence before remediating — do not wipe affected systems first.
Force a password reset and revoke active sessions for exposed accounts; rotate any credentials, API keys or certificates that may have been in the stolen data.
Assess regulatory notification duties (GDPR, NIS2, sector regulators) — many carry a 72-hour reporting clock from awareness.
Report the incident to your national CERT, CISA (United States), as required for your jurisdiction.
Monitor for the data appearing on Hunters International's leak site and across paste and breach channels, and brief downstream partners who may be exposed through you.

How we know this. Darkfield monitors public ransomware leak sites continuously, archiving every new disclosure and the data later released against the victim. Each entry on this page is sourced from the operator's own publication and cross-checked against complementary OSINT feeds (RansomLook, ransomware.live, RansomWatch). We do not collect or host stolen data — only the metadata, timestamps and screenshots needed to make the public disclosure searchable and accountable. Records here are corrected when the original post is edited, retracted, or merged with another disclosure.