University of Pennsylvania
MEDIUM RISKData breach — October 2025
In October 2025, the University of Pennsylvania was the victim of a data breach followed by a ransom demand, largely affecting its donor database. After the incident, the attackers sent inflammatory emails to some victims. The data was later published online in February 2026 and included 624k unique email addresses alongside names and physical addresses. For some donor records, additional personal information was exposed, including gender and date of birth. A small subset of records also contained religion, spouse name, estimated income and donation history.
search Check if you were affected — freeData exposed in this breach
What happened in the University of Pennsylvania data breach?
In October 2025, the University of Pennsylvania was the victim of a data breach followed by a ransom demand, largely affecting its donor database. After the incident, the attackers sent inflammatory emails to some victims. The data was later published online in February 2026 and included 624k unique email addresses alongside names and physical addresses. For some donor records, additional personal information was exposed, including gender and date of birth. A small subset of records also contained religion, spouse name, estimated income and donation history.
The exposed data included 11 types of personal information. Learn more about what a data breach means for you.
Quick answer — was University of Pennsylvania hacked?
Yes. University of Pennsylvania was breached in October 2025. The breach exposed 623,750 records including charitable donations, dates of birth, email addresses. This breach has been independently verified. If your email was involved, your data may still be at risk today. Check if you were affected.
Why was the University of Pennsylvania breach so dangerous?
The University of Pennsylvania breach exposed 623,750 records — that is a large number of compromised accounts. The combination of charitable donations, dates of birth, email addresses makes this a medium-risk breach that should be addressed promptly.
Don't wait to find out — check if your email was exposed in this breach now.
What data was stolen in the University of Pennsylvania breach?
Charitable donations — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Dates of birth — used to verify identity for account takeover and fraud
Email addresses — used for phishing attacks and credential stuffing against your other accounts
Genders — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Income levels — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Job titles — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Physical addresses — combined with other data, used for identity theft and physical fraud
Religions — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Salutations — may be combined with other breach data to build a profile for targeted attacks
Spouses names — used to build profiles and target you with personalised scams
Is the University of Pennsylvania breach still dangerous in 2026?
Yes. Stolen data from the University of Pennsylvania breach remains dangerous years after the incident. Research shows that over 65% of stolen credentials from older breaches have never been changed by the account holders. Attackers routinely compile data from multiple breaches to build complete profiles, and credentials from 2025 are still actively used in credential stuffing attacks today.
Personal information like email addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth never expire. Even if you changed your University of Pennsylvania password, the other exposed data can be combined with information from other breaches to target you. Learn more about how long stolen data stays dangerous.
Frequently asked about the University of Pennsylvania breach
Approximately 623,750 user records were exposed in the University of Pennsylvania breach in October 2025.
Yes. Leaked credentials are actively used in credential stuffing attacks years after a breach. If you reused your University of Pennsylvania password elsewhere and haven't changed it, those accounts remain at risk today.
Enter your email in the free checker on EmailLeaked. We scan 12 billion+ breach records including the full University of Pennsylvania dataset and tell you instantly whether your email was exposed and what data was taken.
Change your University of Pennsylvania password immediately, change any other account where you used the same password, enable two-factor authentication on all important accounts, and monitor for phishing emails over the next 90 days.
Who was affected by the University of Pennsylvania breach?
The University of Pennsylvania data breach affected approximately 623,750 users who had accounts with the service. While not the largest breach on record, it still represents a significant number of compromised accounts in our database of 970+ known breaches.
If you ever created an account with University of Pennsylvania or used their services, your data may have been included in this breach. Check your email now to find out. You can also read our guide on what to do immediately after a data breach.
If your email was in the University of Pennsylvania breach
Change your University of Pennsylvania password immediately
Go to University of Pennsylvania and change your password right now. Use a strong, unique password that you have never used anywhere else.
Change any account sharing that password
If you used the same password on other sites, change it on every one of them. Attackers test stolen credentials on hundreds of popular sites within hours.
Enable two-factor authentication
Turn on 2FA on University of Pennsylvania and every important account. Even if your password is known, attackers cannot get in without the second factor.
Check your other accounts for this breach
Run a full email check to see every breach your email appears in — not just this one.
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