#tbt: Admissions Website Vandalized During Prefrosh Weekend

By Crimson file photo

Back in 2001, a web scandal rocked Harvard pre-frosh weekend when a hacker infiltrated the admissions website and left the following message: “Q vergonha, defaced by USDL, Harvard sux...” “Vergonha” is Portuguese for “shame,” but the admissions office really didn’t have much to be embarrassed about because it hadn’t yet decided to call prefrosh weekend “Visitas.”

Contacts at the admissions office reported that the website was down for at least one day due to the hacker’s ominous message, although we can’t imagine the fallout was actually that huge. This was 2001, back when most Harvard-bound high schoolers only logged on when they wanted to ask SmarterChild why they didn’t have any real friends.

The admissions office claimed to have identified the hacker but declined to reveal his or her identity. We’re pretty sure it was Zuckerberg after he got the idea from the Winklevoss twins. Or maybe they figured it out by searching emails. Just kidding, the administration can’t do that.

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Tags
TechnologyPrefroshVisitasFlyby CampusFlyby Front FeatureThrowback Thursday

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