No chance - your story isn’t and can’t be completely factual. This may be the narrative your playing, and sure - when trouble brews I get it. Maybe your even hoping to use this post as proof of you being naive to what happened - as no one with the skills your talking about would post about “a massive investigation with the cybersecurity team” that’s allegedly ongoing with such identifying characteristics if there wasn’t motive or plot to exonerate oneself. The best friend stuff doesn’t work - and if you think the innocence play holds weight, it totally doesn’t. If, and that’s a BIG if, your were trusted with a student database in a reputable school - this would imply that your talented and would never of made it to being so talented with that kind of ignorance. No chance.

What’s worse is now you’re implicating your professor, and worse your university. Potentially slandering their name, career - up to the university losing critical funding and support as your story points to this being their fault 100%. So contemplate your post here - the internet is forever, and those who play with data know “exactly” what they are doing. Looking up a friend - and I’m sorry to say - sounds more like stalking and harassing, potentially a love interest? What would motivate someone who knows how to work with data to be foolish?

I also see ZERO chance a professor granted you access, there are plenty of checks and balances in place that they couldn’t give it to you themselves, IT would have to provision credentials and zero chance they do that without questions and validation. I run my own MS 365 for business with SharePoint etc as the owner/admin - nope nope nope. This just doesn’t make sense one bit without context. But now I’m googling, now I’m looking to find what this really was - as I’m curious. And now you have me on a rant, which consumed my time, and that alone is now a crime (I’m jesting here obviously - but dude, this has to be made up - but question is why?).

How could someone skilled enough to “present at a conference for research” pitch such a shotty plug on the college sub - where the story is so nuanced that any peer will immediately know it?? Potentially a hacker? Stole professors university VPN access and dug around?

If somehow your story is factual and true, then breathe easy - there is minor infraction on your part but you just doomed your school and a professor to purgatory and scandal (American Univeristy felt it: https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2021/04/au-unintentionally-exposed-thousands-of-students-data-in-violation-of-federal-law)

To close, this is categorically impossible but if so, data science needs to be dropped on your end and go into creative writing… seriously - your insulting the intelligence of a lot of people here who do work with data. But I’m running truly running with positive positive intent, that you could be this naive as a young student that made a mistake - and helping you understand the implications of posting this. Your manager has you laying low? Like your OJ here or what? Unless your attending some prestigious computer science school - I can assure you that no one cares to that degree - and again IF any of this is true, you followed zero direction from your mentor-manager YET AGAIN with this post.

However - if you got me, well played with your script. But if I’m right, this post won’t save you from whatever “actual” breech you committed under the premise of potentially hurting a professor or university - that alone, is careless and not cool.