The University of Pennsylvania is investigating an apparent online security breach Friday after emails from accounts linked to the Ivy League institution\u2019s Graduate School of Education were sent around to students, alumni, faculty, parents and individuals outside the university community.<\/p>\n
\u201cA fraudulent email has been circulated that appears to come from the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Graduate School of Education,\u201d a Penn spokesperson responded to an inquiry from Billy Penn. \u201cThis is obviously a fake, and nothing in the highly offensive, hurtful message reflects the mission or actions of Penn or of Penn GSE. The University\u2019s Office of Information Security is aware of the situation, and our Incident Response team is actively addressing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crudely-worded emails, addressed to the \u201cPenn community,\u201d disparaged the university, its hiring and admission practices, and even made accusations of Penn breaking federal laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease stop giving us money,\u201d the email read, before closing with \u201cwarm regards.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the emails are incredibly offensive and in no way reflective of Penn or Penn GSE\u2019s mission or values,\u201d a message from Penn\u2019s university notification system read. \u201cWe sincerely apologize for the harm this has caused and is causing. Over and above the inconvenience of getting your inboxes spammed, these emails are hurtful and upsetting.\u201d<\/p>\n
An email, addressed to the staff of Penn\u2019s Stuart Weitzman School of Design from an account tied to a senior systems administrator, clarified that there was no malicious links or malware in the unsanctioned email, and the only action necessary was to delete the email, unless the receiver replied to the message or clicked a suspicious link.<\/p>\n