University of Pennsylvania says it has called FBI over data breach

By Raphael Satter

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The University of Pennsylvania says it has called in the Federal Bureau of Investigation after offensive emails were distributed to alumni.

 

In a statement, the university said that a data breach had affected "select information systems."

"We are working with law enforcement as well as other third-party technical resources to address this as rapidly as possible," the university said Monday. The FBI did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

 

An email sent to University of Pennsylvania alumni on Friday and reviewed by Reuters showed that someone masquerading as the university slammed the institution as being "elitist," "woke," and "completely unmeritocratic" and used other, cruder language to describe its staff and students.

 

The cybersecurity focused website Bleeping Computer quoted an unnamed individual or entity that they identified as the hacker as saying that the breach exposed data on 1.2 million University of Pennsylvania donors. Reuters could not independently confirm the claim or identify the hacker or hackers involved.

 

Institutions of higher education have long been tempting targets for spies and cybercriminals alike.

 

A series of universities have recently been hit by breaches claimed by a Hitler-supporting hacker, including a breach at Columbia University which ultimately resulted in the leak of details about New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s college application.

 

(Reporting by Raphael Satter; editing by Chris Sanders)