Bucharest Stock Exchange

Summary

The Bucharest Stock Exchange was targeted by the Anonymous hacking collective as part of a broader cyber campaign known as Operation Icarus, later rebranded as Project Mayhem. The group employed distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to disrupt the exchange's online services alongside other financial institutions, including the Athens Stock Exchange Group and multiple central banks. While the attacks caused temporary website outages, they did not result in significant operational or financial damage beyond service interruptions. Anonymous publicly claimed responsibility for targeting dozens of banking entities during this campaign, characterizing the actions as a protest against global financial systems. The incident reflected the collective's continued focus on symbolic disruptions rather than data breaches or financial theft.

Motives

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TTPs

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Description

On or around June 9, 2016, the Bucharest Stock Exchange (referred to as the Romanian Stock Exchange in source material) experienced a cyberattack attributed to the Anonymous hacking collective. This incident occurred during phase three of Anonymous’ Operation Icarus campaign, rebranded as “Project Mayhem” at the time. The attack coincided with simultaneous disruptions targeting the Athens Stock Exchange Group and the Bilderberg Group’s official website. Anonymous employed distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) techniques, mirroring methods used in prior campaign phases against central banks throughout May 2016. The group publicly claimed responsibility for the attack through online postings, framing it as part of a broader offensive against financial institutions.

The DDoS attack temporarily disrupted the stock exchange’s website but did not cause significant operational or financial impacts beyond this accessibility issue. Anonymous listed the Bucharest Stock Exchange among 67 global banking and financial targets attacked during Operation Icarus, including institutions such as the Bank of England and Bank of France. No evidence indicated data breaches, system compromises, or extended downtime affecting trading operations. The City of London Police, when referenced regarding another target (London Stock Exchange), stated they had not received reports about cyberattacks. The broader campaign’s “scattergun approach” primarily resulted in superficial website disruptions without substantial business losses across all affected entities.

Sources

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