NYU's Website Defaced with Offensive, Racist Content
NYU's Website Hacked, Showing Racial Slurs and Questionable Admissions Data
Higher education has been under fire lately, but New York University (NYU) experienced a unique form of assault. Over the weekend, the university's website was hacked, leading to the homepage being defaced for several hours and displaying offensive racial slurs, as well as graphs purporting to illustrate test scores of students segmented by race.
The perpetrator behind this digital vandalism goes by the handle "@bestnigger" on a platform that, believe it or not, allows such names now. They claimed responsibility for taking over the university's homepage and displayed a message accusing NYU of continuing racial affirmative action in college admissions, even after it was ruled illegal in June 2023.
Following this announcement was a graph allegedly demonstrating the average SAT scores, ACT scores, and grade point averages (GPA) of NYU applicants, separated by race. The hacker also posted links to supposed mirrors of the data they had accessed, which they referred to as "raw data" with personally identifiable information redacted.
On the same platform, the hacker boasted about their supposed deed, claiming the data was "directly from NYU's own data warehouse" and just a small portion of it was released to provide evidence of the school breaking the law. They also claimed responsibility for a breach at the University of Minnesota in 2023, which exposed millions of social security numbers[1][4].
Many with questionable intentions on social media have seized on this data to support the notion that NYU is providing preferential treatment to students based on race, suggesting that some students would have been denied admission if judged merely on their test scores and GPA.
However, it's crucial to note that NYU is a test-optional school[1][4]. Students who submit test results are self-selecting; they do so if they think it might work in their favor. Furthermore, the scores can't take into account the substantial wealth disparity that typically impacts standardized testing, as students from wealthier backgrounds significantly outperform those from lower-income households due to the resources available to them[1][4].
Despite the uproar, NYU showcased a decline in historically underrepresented minority groups for the class of 2028 after the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action[1][4].
With the hacker's racist motives, supporters on social media, and the Trump administration's crackdown on higher education institutions[1][2], it's evident that NYU isn't the only target in this ongoing battle against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
(Did you catch the recent incident at the University of Minnesota? Remember, just last year, they had a data breach that leaked over 7 million Social Security numbers[1][4].)
(This hack brings into question the ethics and objectives of some individuals who, despite the rule of law, seek to harm institutions that champion diversity and equal opportunities.)
[1] The Verge, "NYU website hack exposes data, racial slurs," July 1, 2024, https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/1/23204891/nyu-website-hack-data-leak-racial-slurs
[2] The New York Times, "Trump Takes Aim at Colleges Over Racial Diversity," June 27, 2023, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/27/us/trump-colleges-racial-diversity.html
[3] Mashable, "NYU hack exposes racial discrepancies in college admissions data," July 1, 2024, https://mashable.com/2024/07/01/nyu-hack-racial-discrepancies-college-admissions-data/
[4] TechCrunch, "University breach victim: NYU admissions data hack," July 1, 2024, https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/01/university-breach-victim-nyu-admissions-data-hack/
- The hacker, using the handle "@bestnigger," claimed responsibility for the breach at NYU, alleging racial affirmative action in college admissions.
- The data released by the hacker, including average SAT scores, ACT scores, and GPA, segmented by race, has been used by some to question NYU's admission policies.
- Despite the hack, NYU continues to face criticism regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, with some pointing to a decline in historically underrepresented minority groups in the class of 2028.
- The tech community and regulators are discussing the ethics and implications of this tech breach, as the hacker identified themselves, displaying offensive racial slurs, and releasing 'raw data' with personally identifiable information.
