Harvard University has disclosed a data breach affecting 851,000 accounts, with the university confirming that "extensive profile information" was taken, TechRadar reported.

The scale puts the incident among the larger higher-education breaches disclosed this year. Universities are persistent targets for attackers: they hold deep troves of personal data on students, alumni, staff and donors, often spread across sprawling, decentralized IT systems that are harder to lock down than corporate networks.

The practical risk for those affected is the usual one with rich profile data — targeted phishing and social-engineering attempts that use real personal details to appear legitimate. Anyone with a Harvard-linked account should treat unexpected emails referencing their university affiliation with extra suspicion and ensure strong, unique credentials on associated logins.

Harvard's disclosure did not stop the questions that typically follow a breach of this size: how attackers got in, how long they had access, and what notification and remediation steps the university will offer the affected account holders.