Thousands of students, faculty and staff at Vanderbilt University received racist emails from a White supremacist group. The university was able to discover that the emails were sent from external systems using sophisticated masking techniques to hide who sent the messages. The sender(s) used 57 different IP addresses from 17 different countries in order to hide their identities. Vanderbilt information technology specialists were able to determine how the senders infiltrated the university’s network and blocked access.
Nicholas S. Zeppos, chancellor of Vanderbilt University, issued a statement that said: “We stand with the African American and Black members of the Vanderbilt community who were especially impacted by these hateful messages. This abhorrent attack on our campus was designed to stoke fear and division. We condemn these messages and the hate and bigotry they espouse in the strongest possible terms. We are deeply sorry that our community was victim to such an attack and know it has caused tremendous pain and anguish. Diversity, equity and inclusion are bedrock values of our community. We are committed to protecting our community from such attacks and to supporting the communities directly affected.”
