English students receive bogus email from hacker

He called himself ‘The Warden’


A hacker dubbing themselves “The Warden” told third years to “get a hardcore prison tattoo” and “not get shivved with a shank” in a rogue email sent yesterday.

English students taking the Cruel and Unusual module next semester – which is based on prison films and TV shows – received the email around 6pm last night, shortly followed by an apology from the lecturer explaining he’d been hacked.

It recommended preparing for the module by locking themselves in a room for the next two weeks that was “preferably no bigger than six foot by three foot – standard student accommodation in other words”.

It warned the module takers “try not to get shivved with a shank”, and well as telling them they must “brush up on their prison vernacular”.

The email from The Warden added: “So you want to prepare for the module? Foucault would probably sneer at your docile submission to institutional orthodoxy, but I am hugely encouraged.

“Get a hardcore prison tattoo. Preferably on your face. One tear for every person you’ve killed is so last year. Be creative!

“Lock yourself in a room for the next two weeks. Preferably no bigger than six foot by three foot. Standard student accommodation in other words. If there’s a window make sure you black it out. Leave the room for no more than one hour per day for some light exercise in the Yard.

“Try not to get shivved with a shank. Brush up on your prison vernacular. No more than three meals a day. Make sure the food is seriously disgusting.

“Spend all day reading for ‘Cruel and Unusual’. Before lights out, learn to play the harmonica and then start digging…”

Immediately as students got this email, another was sent by the module coordinator, who said: “An imposted referring to himself as ‘The Warden’ has hacked into my Learn account and is posting bogus messages about the module ‘Cruel and Unusual’. Please ignore them.”