Cyber Incident Victim: Het Belang van Limburg
Date:
Oct 2016
Location:
Belgium
Summary
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack targeted multiple Belgian media outlets, including Het Belang van Limburg, claimed by the Syrian Cyber Army (SCA) due to alleged failure to report Belgian military involvement in airstrikes near Aleppo. The attacks caused significant website downtime and performance degradation across affected organizations. The SCA specifically referenced unreported participation of Belgian F-16 jets in strikes that reportedly caused civilian casualties. One media outlet accused Russia of financing the attackers and identified Turkish-based infrastructure used in the operation. Belgian authorities initiated an investigation into the incident while noting potential connections between the SCA and the more established Syrian Electronic Army group.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On October 24, 2016, the Syrian Cyber Army (SCA) executed distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against multiple Belgian media outlets, including Het Belang van Limburg, De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad, Gazet van Antwerpen, and RTBF. The attacks caused significant operational disruptions, with most targeted websites experiencing prolonged downtime, while others suffered severe performance degradation, rendering them extremely slow to access. The SCA publicly claimed responsibility through a message posted on their group’s homepage, explicitly citing the attacks as retaliation against Belgian media organizations. De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad confirmed the disruptions on their platforms, acknowledging the technical impact on their services. The threat actors utilized servers based in Turkey to orchestrate the attacks, according to Het Nieuwsblad’s technical assessment. Belgian authorities initiated an investigation into the incident, with law enforcement asserting operational links between the SCA and the more established Syrian Electronic Army group.
The SCA justified its actions by accusing Belgian media of deliberately omitting reports that two Belgian F-16 military jets participated in an October 18 air strike near Aleppo, Syria. Specifically, the group referenced a Russian military report alleging the strike destroyed two houses in Hassadjek, resulting in six fatalities and four injuries. The attackers emphasized this omission as the catalyst for targeting Belgian news platforms, framing the DDoS campaign as a response to perceived biased reporting. Het Nieuwsblad further alleged Russian financial backing for the SCA, though no corroborating evidence was provided in the report. The Belgian investigative response remained focused on attributing the attacks and mitigating further disruptions, with no public disclosure of technical countermeasures or restoration timelines for the affected media outlets. Service interruptions persisted for an unspecified duration across the targeted websites, impacting public access to news during the incident period.