Cyber Incident Victim: Malé
Date:
Jan 2024
Location:
Maldives
Summary
Multiple Maldivian government websites, including those of the President's Office, Foreign Ministry, Tourism Ministry, and Juvenile Court, experienced disruptions attributed to cyber attacks by a group identifying as Indian hackers. The perpetrators, TeaM NETWORK9, claimed responsibility, citing inflammatory statements by Maldivian officials as motivation and warning of further cyber consequences unless provocations ceased. Their defacement message criticized the remarks as damaging to bilateral relations and referenced historical Indian support. Authorities initially described the outages as technical issues before restoring access. The hackers promoted hashtags advocating Indian tourism alternatives to the Maldives.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 2 techniques |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On January 7, 2024, multiple official Maldivian government websites experienced prolonged outages, including those of the President’s Office, Foreign Ministry, and Tourism Ministry. Authorities initially attributed the disruptions to “technical issues” and assured the public that the National Center for Information Technology (NCIT) and other entities were working to restore services. The President’s Office posted a public apology on social media platform X, acknowledging the “unexpected technical disruption” and requesting patience during restoration efforts. The websites were eventually restored after several hours of downtime. Two days later, on January 10, the Juvenile Court of the Maldives website became inaccessible and displayed a defacement message from a hacking group identifying itself as TeaM NETWORK9. The group claimed responsibility for both the January 7 and January 10 incidents, explicitly stating their affiliation as “Bharatiya hackers” (Indian hackers) and linking their actions to recent diplomatic tensions between India and the Maldives.
The hackers’ message condemned inflammatory remarks made by Maldivian officials Malsha, Hassan Zihan, and Mariyum Shiuna, characterizing their statements as “illiterate and rascist [sic]” and detrimental to bilateral relations. The post asserted that the cyber attacks were direct retaliation for these comments and warned of further actions that could “severly impact your cyber space” unless provocations ceased immediately. It referenced historical Indian assistance to the Maldives and included hashtags promoting Indian tourism destinations (#ExploreIndianIsland and #Lakshadweep), coinciding with publicized tensions over tourism competition. The message concluded with acknowledgments to other hacker groups but did not specify additional targets or timelines for future operations. No technical details regarding attack vectors, data compromise, or infrastructure damage were disclosed in the available reporting. Maldivian authorities had not issued further public statements regarding the attribution or investigation of the incidents at the time of reporting.