The Eighth Page

Features — Phillipian Satire: How Andover Could Take Over the World If It Wanted To

Recently, the Tang Institute hired a hacker group, dubbed Phillips Academy OIT Help Desk, that has targeted numerous sites and apps used by students. The attack began when many students fell victim to convincing phishing emails.

“It felt as if the email was written personally to me. How could I have not clicked on the link? It said IT Admin in the subject line, so I assumed it had to be legit,” said Timmy Turner ’18.

Since then, students across campus have experienced various issues with apps like Tinder, a hot alternative to Facebook, which has since stopped working on phones across campus. In addition, students have been seeing grades fall to unexpected lows on Canvas, due to the hacks. Most notably, The Houseparty app has been shut down by the administration, due to their bad experiences with house parties in recent years. Furthermore, Snapchat filters have all been replaced with ones related to Non Sibi, Gunga, and Andover spirit. All of social media has been taken over.

Such rampant invasions of privacy and infractions of rights must be addressed. Otherwise, the Tang Institute will not stop at Andover. What comes next? The Pentagon? Would you want the Tang Institute or Mr. Palfrey with their finger on the button? With this kind of power, Andover would surely take over the world in a matter of days. All it would take is one vague phishing email.

We, as a student body, must vow to keep our Outlook mailboxes full at all times to protect ourselves from such threats. Don’t trust any email from the IT Help Desk, Central Services, or Canvas. Don’t even check your student mailbox. We must protect ourselves by attending Techmasters meetings. Students of Andover, we must remain vigilant.