University of Pennsylvania data breach
Was I affected?
University of Pennsylvania confirmed a breach affecting about 623,750 email addresses, exposing names, email addresses, addresses and dates of birth. You may be affected if you are a Penn alumnus, donor, parent or student in its development/alumni databases and received Penn's notice.
| Announced | Oct 31, 2025 |
|---|---|
| When it happened | October 30-31, 2025 |
| Email addresses exposed | 623,750 |
| Data exposed | Names, Email addresses, Addresses, Dates of birth and Other details |
| Status | Confirmed by the company or a regulator filing |
What happened
Penn alumni and students received offensive mass emails from university addresses on October 31, 2025, and Penn confirmed a breach of some information systems. The attacker said they used a compromised employee login to take donor and alumni records, claiming 1.2 million donors; the data published in February 2026 held about 624,000 unique emails with names and addresses and, for some, birth dates, donation history, spouse names and income estimates.
What should I do?
- Treat emails, texts and calls that mention Penn, donations or alumni events as suspect; don't click links or share codes, and contact the company through its official app or website.
- Be wary of donation requests or 'account verification' calls; give only via Penn's official giving site.
- Watch for targeted scams using your giving history or family details.
Check whether your email address is in this breach on Have I Been Pwned (breach data from haveibeenpwned.com, CC BY 4.0).
Check the other services you use →
Sources
- University of Pennsylvania hacker claims 1.2 million donor data breach · BleepingComputer (news)
- Penn data breach and hack email · The Philadelphia Inquirer (news)