Cyber Incident Victim: Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission
Date:
Jan 2017
Location:
Australia
Summary
Anonymous hackers defaced the website of the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission, replacing its homepage with a message promoting their social network AnonPlus. The group claimed to be "non-criminal" and advocated for uncensored media, criticizing information control and mass manipulation while asserting no data was stolen or deleted. The defacement solely altered the homepage, displaying a manifesto about restoring media dignity through direct information dissemination, though the specific motive for targeting the organization remained unclear.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On or around January 2, 2017, the website of the Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission was compromised by hackers associated with the Anonymous collective. The attackers replaced the commission's homepage with a message promoting AnonPlus, described as a social network operated by the group. The defacement left visitors unable to access the commission's standard content, instead displaying a lengthy manifesto written in broken English. The message declared AnonPlus to be "non-criminal" and emphasized its opposition to censorship, claiming the platform allowed information dissemination without media filtration. It accused mainstream media of manipulating public opinion to create "false realities" and framed website defacements as acts to restore dignity to journalism by forcing visibility of unfiltered content. The statement explicitly denied stealing or deleting any data from the commission's systems, asserting only the homepage had been altered.
The motive for targeting Victoria's human rights commission remained unclear based on the message content, which contained no specific grievances against the organization. The hackers characterized their actions as serving public interest rather than personal or political agendas, claiming to operate without formal leadership structures. Their manifesto concluded with the declaration: "We are not criminal we are AnonPlus." The incident caused temporary disruption to the commission's online presence but did not involve data exfiltration or destruction according to the perpetrators' claims. No technical details about the attack vector, duration of downtime, or restoration efforts were disclosed in the available documentation of the breach.