A notorious hacking group has claimed responsibility for last year’s data breaches at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and published the data that they claim to have stolen from the two schools.
On Wednesday, the group known as ShinyHunters published what it claims are more than one million records from each university on the group’s dedicated leak site, which the gang uses to extort its victims.
In November, UPenn confirmed a data breach of “a select group of information systems related to Penn’s development and alumni activities.” At the time, the hackers also sent alumni emails announcing the hack from official university addresses.
The university blamed the breach on social engineering, an attack that often relies on hackers impersonating someone and tricking them into doing something they would not normally do. In its official breach disclosure web page, which has since been taken offline, UPenn did not say exactly what type of data the hackers stole, simply saying the cybercriminals accessed “systems related to Penn’s development and alumni activities.”
Contact Us Do you have more information about these breaches, or similar attacks? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram, Keybase and Wire @lorenzofb, or Do you have more information about these breaches, or similar attacks? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram, Keybase and Wire @lorenzofb, or email
TechCrunch verified a portion of the data set by confirming with alumni and public records, such as matching the data against student ID numbers.
Later in November, Harvard University also confirmed a breach on its alumni systems, blaming it on a voice phishing attack, meaning an attack where hackers tricked the targets into clicking on a link or opening an attachment with a voice call.
Harvard said that the stolen data included email addresses, phone numbers, home and business addresses, event attendance, details of donations to the university, and other biographical information relating to the university’s fundraising and alumni engagement activities.
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