University of California
HIGH RISKData breach — December 2020
In December 2020, the University of California suffered a data breach due to vulnerability in in a third-party provider, Accellion. The breach exposed extensive personal data on both students and staff including 547 thousand unique email addresses, names, dates of birth, genders, social security numbers, ethnicities and other academic related data attributes. Further analysis is available in Exploring the Impact of the UC Data Breach. The data was provided to HIBP courtesy of Cyril Gorlla.
search Check if you were affected — freeData exposed in this breach
What happened in the University of California data breach?
In December 2020, the University of California suffered a data breach due to vulnerability in in a third-party provider, Accellion. The breach exposed extensive personal data on both students and staff including 547 thousand unique email addresses, names, dates of birth, genders, social security numbers, ethnicities and other academic related data attributes. Further analysis is available in Exploring the Impact of the UC Data Breach. The data was provided to HIBP courtesy of Cyril Gorlla.
The exposed data included 10 types of personal information. Social Security numbers were compromised, creating a long-term risk of identity theft. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was University of California hacked?
Yes. University of California was breached in December 2020. The breach exposed 547,422 records including dates of birth, education levels, email addresses. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
Why was the University of California breach so dangerous?
The University of California breach exposed 547,422 records — that is a large number of compromised accounts. The combination of dates of birth, education levels, email addresses makes this a high-risk breach that requires immediate action.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the University of California breach?
Dates of birth — used to verify identity for account takeover and fraud
Education levels — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Ethnicities — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Genders — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Job titles — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Phone numbers — enables SIM swapping attacks and targeted SMS phishing scams
Physical addresses — combined with other data, used for identity theft and physical fraud
Social security numbers — enables full identity theft including fraudulent credit applications
Is the University of California breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the University of California breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Research shows that over 65% of stolen credentials from older breaches have never been changed by the account holders. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2020 are still actively used in credential stuffing attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth never expire. Even if you changed your University of California password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn more about how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Frequently asked about the University of California breach
Approximately 547,422 user records were exposed in the University of California breach in December 2020.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your University of California password elsewhere and haven't changed it, those accounts remain at risk today.
Enter your email in the free checker on EmailLeaked. We scan 12 billion+ breach records including the full University of California dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your University of California password immediately, change any other account where you used the same password, enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts, and monitor for phishing emails over the next 90 days.
Who was affected by the University of California breach?
The University of California data breach affected approximately 547,422 users who had accounts with the service. While not the largest breach on record, it still represents a significant number of compromised accounts in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with University of California or used their services, your data may have been included in this breach. Check your email now to find out. You can also read our guide on what to do immediately after a data breach.
If your email was in the University of California breach
Change your University of California password immediately
Go to University of California and change your password right now. Use a strong, unique password that you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you used the same password on other sites, change it on every one of them. Attackers test stolen credentials on hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on University of California and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot get in without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email check to see every breach your email appears in — not just this one.
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