The University of Pennsylvania is currently investigating a fraudulent and offensive email that was widely distributed to its community. University officials have confirmed the message is a fake and that the Office of Information Security is actively addressing the incident.
The email, which contained vulgar language, criticized the university's policies and culture. It appears to have been sent from multiple sources, including at least one associated with the Penn Graduate School of Education (GSE), causing confusion and concern among students, faculty, and alumni.
Key Takeaways
- The University of Pennsylvania is investigating a fraudulent email sent to its community.
- The message contained highly offensive language targeting the university's policies on diversity and admissions.
- Officials state the email is a fake and does not reflect the university's values.
- The Office of Information Security is actively working to address the breach and block further messages.
- IT departments across the university have advised recipients to mark the email as spam or phishing.
Details of the Fraudulent Message
The email, which began circulating on October 31, 2025, carried a subject line that in some cases read, “We got hacked.” The body of the message launched into a tirade against the university, labeling it an “elitist institution.”
The content attacked the university’s security practices, hiring standards, and admissions processes. It specifically referenced and criticized affirmative action, legacy admissions, and donor influence, while also claiming the university violates federal laws like the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
The message concluded with a plea for people to stop donating to the university. The political tone of the email appeared to lean right, with its direct criticism of “woke” culture and diversity initiatives, issues that are frequent topics of national debate.
Email's Core Allegations
The fraudulent message made several inflammatory claims against the university, including poor security, unmeritocratic admissions, and violations of federal law. These claims have been disavowed by the university as completely false.
University's Swift Response
University of Pennsylvania officials moved quickly to address the situation and reassure the community. A spokesperson for the university issued a statement condemning the email's contents.
“A fraudulent email has been circulated that appears to come from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. This is obviously a fake, and nothing in the highly offensive, hurtful message reflects the mission or actions of Penn or of Penn GSE.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the university’s Office of Information Security and its Incident Response team are actively addressing the situation. The primary goals are to identify the source of the emails and prevent any further distribution.
Individual schools and departments within the university also sent out their own advisories. UPenn Medicine Academic Computing Services instructed students to mark the emails as phishing or spam and warned them not to click on any links or open attachments. Similarly, the School of Nursing’s IT services confirmed that its security team was working to block the messages.
Investigating the Source of the Breach
While the investigation is ongoing, early indications suggest that the university's core email servers may not have been directly compromised. An email from Elizabeth Cooper, the IT help desk manager at UPenn’s Annenberg School for Communication, provided some initial analysis.
In a message reported by the Daily Pennsylvanian, Cooper noted that the Annenberg school itself had not been hacked. She suggested a different point of origin for the attack.
An External List Compromised?
“These emails are being received by individuals outside of UPenn as well,” Cooper wrote. “It appears that some email list, which is beyond our control, was accessed by malicious individuals who then sent out these messages.”
This suggests the perpetrators may have gained access to a third-party mailing list that includes members of the Penn community, such as an alumni or event listserv, rather than breaching the university's internal network. This would explain why the sending addresses varied, with some appearing to come from faculty and alumni operations at the Graduate School of Education.
Context on University Policies
The incident occurs after the university recently rejected an offer from the Trump administration to receive preferential treatment for federal funding. The proposal was contingent on schools committing to certain principles, including merit-based admissions and hiring. In its rejection, UPenn stated it was already “committed to merit-based achievement and accountability,” highlighting the ongoing national conversation around admissions policies that the fraudulent email sought to exploit.
Next Steps and Security Measures
The university's information security teams continue their investigation to pinpoint the exact source of the breach and identify the individuals responsible. A key part of this process involves analyzing the email headers and digital footprints left by the sender.
For the broader community, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of digital hygiene. University IT departments have reiterated standard security advice:
- Do not click on suspicious links or attachments.
- Report suspicious emails using the phishing or spam features in your email client.
- Be skeptical of messages with inflammatory or unusual language, even if they appear to come from a trusted source.
- Verify unexpected communications through a separate, trusted channel if you have doubts.
As the investigation proceeds, the university is expected to provide updates to its community. The focus remains on securing its communication channels and reinforcing trust in its digital infrastructure following this disruptive and offensive incident.
