Houston City College data breach
831,642 accounts exposed in a breach on 16 June 2026.
At a glance
831,642
Accounts exposed
16 June 2026
Date of the breach
28 July 2026
Added to the list
What happened
In June 2026, Houston City College was the target of a ShinyHunters "pay or leak" extortion campaign. Data allegedly obtained from the college was later published publicly and included 832k unique email addresses along with names, addresses, phone numbers, academic records, and other personal information relating to both current students and alumni.
What was exposed
- Academic records. This kind of data was included in the breach. Treat it as exposed and be careful with messages that use it.
- Citizenship statuses. This kind of data was included in the breach. Treat it as exposed and be careful with messages that use it.
- Dates of birth. Dates of birth were exposed. They help criminals prove they are you, and they cannot be changed.
- Email addresses. Email addresses were exposed. Expect more spam and phishing aimed at those addresses.
- Genders. Genders were exposed. On its own it is low risk, but it adds to a profile of you.
- Names. Names were exposed. Scammers use real names to make a message look personal.
- Phone numbers. Phone numbers were exposed. Expect scam calls and text messages, some of them pretending to be the organisation.
- Physical addresses. Home or postal addresses were exposed. They can be used to make a scam letter or a fake identity look real.
What to do now
It depends on what was exposed, so these steps follow the list above.
If your contact details were exposed
- Expect more spam, scam calls and phishing. Do not click links or open attachments in messages you did not expect.
- If a message mentions this breach, do not reply. Go to the organisation's own website or app instead of using a link in the message.
Whatever was exposed
- Check which other breaches include your own email address and phone number.
- Keep an eye on your accounts for a few months. Breached data is often used long after the breach.
- If you think someone is using your details, report it to the organisation and to your national cyber crime reporting service.
Check your own exposure
- Password leak check: find out whether a password has appeared in a breach. The password never leaves your browser.
- Free domain security scan: grade the email, DNS and website security of a domain you own.
Related breaches
Other breaches that exposed some of the same kinds of data.
University of Nottingham
In June 2026, the University of Nottingham was the target of a cyber attack, later linked to a ShinyHunters "pay or leak" extortion campaign.
- Academic records
- Citizenship statuses
- Dates of birth
- Disabilities
- +11 more
Read what happened
Glendale Community College
In June 2026, Glendale Community College was the target of a ShinyHunters "pay or leak" extortion campaign.
- Academic records
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- Genders
- +4 more
Read what happened
Sharecare
In August 2026, the digital health company Sharecare was the target of a ShinyHunters "pay or leak" extortion campaign.
- Dates of birth
- Email addresses
- Employers
- Genders
- +6 more
Read what happened