The release of imprisoned WikiLeaksfounder Julian Assangewas called for by hackers who took over three Idaho on Sunday afternoon.
The websites of Idaho State Parks and Recreation , the STEM Action Center , and a personal protective equipment supply site were also affected , with their homepages displaying a black background with the message “ Hacked by Ghost Squad Hackers ” written in blue letters. A message reading “ Free Julian Assange! Journalism is not a crime! ” also appeared under a GIF of V, from the 2005 film “V for Vendetta.”
A Twitter account reported the incident involving Ghost Squad Hackers shortly before 7 p.m. on Sunday. According to the tweet: “Idaho government server hacked with #FreeAssange message.”
Ghost Squad Hackers is a group of hackers, many of whom are affiliated with the Anonymous. As the group's leader told the Indian news website The Wire: "The primary intent and focus of the group is anti-government and organized cyber protests in the context of the current entanglement of the profit-driven media and real-life events." Several Indian government websites have recently fallen victim to the group, and the group has reportedly targeted both the US military and the terrorist group ISIS in recent years.
Idaho's political leader contacted technology and cybersecurity experts, and as of 9 p.m. Sunday, no other state websites.
It is not the first time that government websites have fallen victim to breaches. In 2017, the state treasury website was breached and displayed a message in support of the Islamic State, while in 2018 the website of the legislative body of Idaho was breached and displayed a message written in Italian and a video from the group AnonPlus. No sensitive data was compromised in either of the two incidents, but in 2016 the breach of the licensing database of the Idaho Fish and Game department raised concerns that sensitive information may have been compromised.
