Comparison Overview

Northwestern University

VS

Harvard University

Northwestern University

633 Clark St, Evanston, IL, US, 60208
Last Update: 2026-04-02
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Between 800 and 849
http://northwestern.edu

Northwestern is one of the nation’s premier research universities, combining innovative teaching and pioneering research in a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary, and diverse environment. Northwestern provides both students and faculty exceptional opportunities for intellectual, personal, and professional growth in beautiful settings, with two campuses located on Lake Michigan: a 240-acre campus in Evanston, minutes north of Chicago, and a 25-acre campus in downtown Chicago. A third campus in Doha, Qatar was founded in 2008. For more information visit http://www.northwestern.edu

NAICS: 6113
NAICS Definition: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
Employees: 16,715
Subsidiaries: 18
12-month incidents
0
Known data breaches
0
Attack type number
0
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Harvard University

30 Dunster St, Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, 02138
Last Update: 2026-04-02
Between 700 and 749
http://harvard.edu

Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders in many disciplines who make a difference globally. Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. The official flagship Harvard social media channels are maintained by Harvard Public Affairs and Communications and aim to provide access to the people, places, events, news and research at our Institution. We ask that all visitors to Harvard’s digital spaces be civil to one another and to the site editors. Personal attacks, profanity, commercial solicitations, spam, misinformation or other inappropriate contributions are grounds for comment removal. We ask that you stay on topic when contributing to a discussion and refrain from duplicate posts. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. The page administrators reserve the right to delete inappropriate or abusive comments and to permanently ban or block users from the Harvard social media accounts.

NAICS: 6113
NAICS Definition: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
Employees: 33,569
Subsidiaries: 57
12-month incidents
1
Known data breaches
1
Attack type number
2

Compliance Badges Comparison

Security & Compliance Standards Overview

https://images.rankiteo.com/companyimages/northwestern-university.jpeg
Northwestern University
—
ISO 27001
ISO 27001 certification not verified
Not verified
—
SOC2 Type 1
SOC2 Type 1 certification not verified
Not verified
—
SOC2 Type 2
SOC2 Type 2 certification not verified
Not verified
—
GDPR
GDPR certification not verified
Not verified
—
PCI DSS
PCI DSS certification not verified
Not verified
—
HIPAA
HIPAA certification not verified
Not verified
https://images.rankiteo.com/companyimages/harvard-university.jpeg
Harvard University
—
ISO 27001
ISO 27001 certification not verified
Not verified
—
SOC2 Type 1
SOC2 Type 1 certification not verified
Not verified
—
SOC2 Type 2
SOC2 Type 2 certification not verified
Not verified
—
GDPR
GDPR certification not verified
Not verified
—
PCI DSS
PCI DSS certification not verified
Not verified
—
HIPAA
HIPAA certification not verified
Not verified
Compliance Summary
Northwestern University
100%
Compliance Rate
0/4 Standards Verified
Harvard University
0%
Compliance Rate
0/4 Standards Verified

Benchmark & Cyber Underwriting Signals

Incidents vs Higher Education Industry Average (This Year)

No incidents recorded for Northwestern University in 2026.

Incidents vs Higher Education Industry Average (This Year)

Harvard University has 45.05% fewer incidents than the average of same-industry companies with at least one recorded incident.

Incident History — Northwestern University (X = Date, Y = Severity)

Northwestern University cyber incidents detection timeline including parent company and subsidiaries

Incident History — Harvard University (X = Date, Y = Severity)

Harvard University cyber incidents detection timeline including parent company and subsidiaries

Notable Incidents

Last 3 Security & Risk Events by Company

https://images.rankiteo.com/companyimages/northwestern-university.jpeg
Northwestern University
Incidents

No Incident

https://images.rankiteo.com/companyimages/harvard-university.jpeg
Harvard University
Incidents

Date Detected: 1/2026
Type:Breach
Attack Vector: Social Engineering (Phone-based Phishing)
Blog: Blog

Date Detected: 11/2025
Type:Ransomware
Attack Vector: Social Engineering, Voice Phishing (Vishing)
Motivation: Extortion, Alleged discontent with affirmative action policies (unconfirmed)
Blog: Blog

FAQ

Northwestern University company demonstrates a stronger AI Cybersecurity Score compared to Harvard University company, reflecting its advanced cybersecurity posture governance and monitoring frameworks.

Harvard University company has historically faced a number of disclosed cyber incidents, whereas Northwestern University company has not reported any.

In the current year, Harvard University company has reported more cyber incidents than Northwestern University company.

Harvard University company has confirmed experiencing a ransomware attack, while Northwestern University company has not reported such incidents publicly.

Harvard University company has disclosed at least one data breach, while Northwestern University company has not reported such incidents publicly.

Neither Harvard University company nor Northwestern University company has reported experiencing targeted cyberattacks publicly.

Neither Northwestern University company nor Harvard University company has reported experiencing or disclosing vulnerabilities publicly.

Neither Northwestern University nor Harvard University holds any compliance certifications.

Neither company holds any compliance certifications.

Harvard University company has more subsidiaries worldwide compared to Northwestern University company.

Harvard University company employs more people globally than Northwestern University company, reflecting its scale as a Higher Education.

Neither Northwestern University nor Harvard University holds SOC 2 Type 1 certification.

Neither Northwestern University nor Harvard University holds SOC 2 Type 2 certification.

Neither Northwestern University nor Harvard University holds ISO 27001 certification.

Neither Northwestern University nor Harvard University holds PCI DSS certification.

Neither Northwestern University nor Harvard University holds HIPAA certification.

Neither Northwestern University nor Harvard University holds GDPR certification.

Latest Global CVEs (Not Company-Specific)

Description

A vulnerability was found in Nothings stb up to 1.26. Impacted is the function stbtt_InitFont_internal in the library stb_truetype.h of the component TTF File Handler. Performing a manipulation results in out-of-bounds read. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. The exploit has been made public and could be used. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

Published
Date
2026-04-01
Updated
Date
2026-04-01
Risk Information
cvss2
Base: 5.0
Severity: LOW
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
cvss3
Base: 4.3
Severity: LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
cvss4
Base: 5.3
Severity: LOW
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
References
Description

V-SFT versions 6.2.10.0 and prior contain an out-of-bounds read in VS6ComFile!get_macro_mem_COM. Opening a crafted V7 file may lead to information disclosure from the affected product.

Published
Date
2026-04-01
Updated
Date
2026-04-01
Risk Information
cvss3
Base: 7.8
Severity: LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cvss4
Base: 8.4
Severity: LOW
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
References
Description

V-SFT versions 6.2.10.0 and prior contain a stack-based buffer overflow in VS6ComFile!CSaveData::_conv_AnimationItem. Opening a crafted V7 file may lead to arbitrary code execution on the affected product.

Published
Date
2026-04-01
Updated
Date
2026-04-01
Risk Information
cvss3
Base: 7.8
Severity: LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cvss4
Base: 8.4
Severity: LOW
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
References
Description

V-SFT versions 6.2.10.0 and prior contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in VS6MemInIF!set_temp_type_default. Opening a crafted V7 file may lead to information disclosure from the affected product.

Published
Date
2026-04-01
Updated
Date
2026-04-01
Risk Information
cvss3
Base: 7.8
Severity: LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cvss4
Base: 8.4
Severity: LOW
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
References
Description

V-SFT versions 6.2.10.0 and prior contain an out-of-bounds read vulnerability in VS6ComFile!load_link_inf. Opening a crafted V7 file may lead to information disclosure from the affected product.

Published
Date
2026-04-01
Updated
Date
2026-04-01
Risk Information
cvss3
Base: 7.8
Severity: LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cvss4
Base: 8.4
Severity: LOW
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
References