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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA • FOUNDED 1885

PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2025

VOL. CXLI

NO. 27

Mass Penn cybersecurity breach exposes thousands of confidential files, donor records

EULINA JI | DESIGN ASSOCIATE

THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN STAFF

Penn fell victim to a cybersecurity attack last week that exposed more than 1.2 million lines of data — including confidential University documents — according to the group claiming responsibility. The breach came to light after a series of mass emails was sent on Oct. 31 from University-affiliated addresses criticizing Penn’s security practices and institutional purpose. The alleged hackers have since released thousands of pages of confidential University files, including internal talking points, memos about donors and their families, bank transaction receipts, and personal

identifying information. In a Nov. 4 message to the Penn community, Joshua Beeman — Penn’s interim vice president of information technology and interim chief information officer — wrote that while the University is still investigating the “nature of the information” that was obtained in the breach, Penn’s digital systems are now secured and operational. According to Beeman, the breach occurred “due to a sophisticated identity impersonation commonly known as social engineering.” The University has referred the matter to the FBI,

according to a Nov. 3 University statement. Beeman said that Penn “locked down the systems and prevented further unauthorized access” when they discovered the breach on Oct. 31 — but not before the data had been stolen and a series of vulgar emails sent. Shortly after the hack, the individuals claiming responsibility for the breach published what it called an “appetizer” of stolen data. Documents included in the data dump detailed donations from individual members of the Graduate School of Education Board of Advisors to Penn. In multiple

instances, the documents list whether children of donors or board members planned to apply to Penn. In the Oct. 31 emails, the hackers stated that the University “love[s] legacies, donors, and unqualified affirmative action admits.” The released data also included thousands of spreadsheets containing records of wire and ACH transactions of donations made by individuals and corporations to GSE. Other documents show contributors’ addresses, phone numbers, and demographic data. See HACK, page 2

Penn students overwhelmingly vote blue in Pa. local election

Penn SP2 to lay off 8% of staff amid ‘significant budget challenges’

Turnout approached nearly half the number of votes cast in last year’s presidential election as the Democratic Party made gains nationwide

Last week, the School of Social Policy & Practice initiated the layoff process in a move that SP2 Dean Sara Bachman characterized as a ‘painful decision’

ALEX DASH Senior Reporter

ARTI JAIN AND ANANYA KARTHIK Contributing Reporters

Penn voted overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates on Nov. 4 as the party made gains in elections nationwide. On Election Day, 2,126 ballots were cast across four primary polling locations on Penn’s campus — the ARCH building, Houston Hall, Walnut Street West Library, and Civic House. Turnout approached nearly half the number of votes cast in last year’s presidential election — an unprecedented campus showing for an off-cycle election year. “I was just really impressed by what I was seeing in just today’s energy, attention, preparation, and turnout — it far exceeded the expectations of everybody I know,” Executive Director of Penn’s Office of Government and Community Affairs Dawn Deitch told The Daily Pennsylvanian. “I’ve done this for more than 20 years on Penn’s campus, and it was just impressive in every way.” Of the votes cast in the Philadelphia district attorney race across Penn’s four polling locations on Tuesday, 90.2% went to Democratic incumbent Larry Krasner while 9.8% went to Republican challenger Pat Dugan. The district attorney race was a rematch of the Democratic primary earlier this year, in which Krasner defeated Dugan with 64% of the vote. Krasner had been expected to run unopposed before a write-in campaign resulted in Dugan’s nomination as the Republican candidate. First elected in 2017, Krasner has served two four-year terms as district attorney. His tenure has been characterized by reform efforts, including the termination of cash bail for most nonviolent offenses and the creation of a Conviction Integrity Unit aimed at exonerating wrongful

convictions. Krasner has been a regular critic of 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump, promising to use legal means against the president if the National Guard were to be deployed in Philadelphia. All three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices up for retention won their elections. Justices Kevin Dougherty, Christine Donohue, and David Wecht each won retention with more than 94% of voters at Penn’s four polling locations voting in favor. The results mean the court will remain with a Democratic majority through 2028. If the justices had not won their retention votes, the court would have had a 2-2 ideological split until the next judicial elections in 2027. The partisan makeup of the court is projected to determine its handling of key issues moving forward in Pennsylvania, including election administration and abortion rights. Retaining all three justices in Tuesday’s election means a Democratic majority will preside over the court for the 2028 presidential election, for which Pennsylvania will play a key role as a swing state. While only one statewide judge in Pennsylvania history has ever lost a retention election, Democrats went into Election Day with concern over three races amid rumors of unprecedented Republican financial campaigns against three justices. Reports alleged that millions of dollars have been spent on campaigns and advertising for this year’s races. The Pennsylvania retention vote marked the latest in a See VOTE, page 2

EBUNOLUWA ADESIDA | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

SP2 is located in the Caster Building at 3701 Locust Walk.

Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice will reduce its staff by 8% amid budget constraints, SP2 Dean Sara Bachman announced in an Oct. 27 email. Last week, SP2 initiated the layoff process in a move that Bachman’s email characterized as a “painful decision.” The layoffs come as a result of schoolwide staff restructuring following “collective efforts to creatively adapt and grow” in the face of budget challenges and a

decline in student enrollment numbers. “We have utilized multiple strategies to address the resulting budgetary challenges we face, including careful review of all aspects of the budget, consolidation and realignment of services, reinforcement of established policies, and a new hiring review process,” Bachman wrote. See LAYOFFS, page 3

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