Cyber Incident Disrupts Cedar Crest College Systems; NightSpire Claim Unverified
Summary
Cedar Crest College says a July 13 cybersecurity incident disrupted applications, network drives and OneDrive. Officials are investigating possible data access; a NightSpire ransomware claim remains unverified.
Key points
- The college said it detected the incident at about 7:45 a.m. on July 13 and activated emergency response protocols.
- Disrupted services included campus applications, network drives and cloud file-sharing systems, including OneDrive.
- Cedar Crest is working with outside cybersecurity experts and law enforcement to investigate and restore services.
- Ransomware.live reported that NightSpire claimed responsibility, but the outlet could not independently verify the claim and Cedar Crest has not attributed the incident to the group.
- The college has not confirmed ransomware involvement, data theft, encryption, a ransom demand or the affected information; it said some information may have been accessed or compromised.
- The college advised its community to watch for phishing, use unique passwords and enable multifactor authentication.
Article Details
- Victim Organization
- Cedar Crest College
- Incident Type
- Cybersecurity incident; ransomware involvement was claimed but not confirmed.
- Incident Date
- 2026-07-13
- Disclosure Date
- 2026-07-16
- Operational Impact
- Campus applications, network drives, and cloud-based file-sharing systems, including OneDrive, were disrupted. The college was working to restore services. Officials said some information may have been accessed or compromised but had not confirmed this or identified the information or individuals affected.
- Ransom Or Extortion
- No ransom demand was reported. NightSpire claimed responsibility, but the college did not confirm the group’s involvement, data theft, encryption, or extortion.
- Claim Status
- claimed