Cyber Incident Victim: Team Muslim Cyberforce
Date:
Jan 2015
Location:
New Zealand
Summary
A hacking group identifying as 'Team Muslim Cyberforce' defaced two New Zealand-based nonprofit websites—the Tindall Foundation and Zeal's Live For Tomorrow—replacing content with a message suggesting Indonesian ties. Both sites were temporarily taken offline but restored shortly after the unsophisticated attacks. The defaced pages implied ideological motives, though neither organization reported prior threats or understood the specific rationale for targeting. Live For Tomorrow, focused on youth mental health and anti-bullying resources, speculated the hackers might have objected to its content or exploited technical vulnerabilities. The Tindall Foundation incident was assessed as potentially random. No data theft or persistent disruption occurred.
| 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 January 19, 2015, at least two New Zealand websites—the Tindall Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by businessman Stephen Tindall, and Zeal’s Live For Tomorrow, a mental health initiative for adolescents—were compromised and defaced by a hacking group identifying as "Team Muslim Cyberforce." The attacks were discovered when Elliot Taylor, Advocacy & Operations Manager at Zeal, accessed the Live For Tomorrow website during his routine morning check and encountered the unauthorized defacement instead of the expected content. Taylor described the incident as unexpected, particularly given the site’s recent focus on lighthearted content like "birds with dog heads" and its broader mission of promoting positive mental health resources and anti-bullying messaging. Both websites were temporarily rendered inaccessible but restored to normal operation shortly after detection.
The defacement message left by Team Muslim Cyberforce suggested a potential connection to Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, though no specific motive was explicitly declared. Neither organization confirmed a deliberate targeting rationale. Taylor speculated the attack could have stemmed from hackers taking offense to unspecified content or exploiting the sites as low-effort targets due to potential vulnerabilities. Chris Keall of *NBR* similarly characterized the Tindall Foundation breach as likely random. The attacks exhibited limited technical sophistication, causing minimal prolonged disruption. No data theft or secondary malicious activity beyond the defacements was reported. Both entities resumed operations without publicizing additional security measures or forensic findings. The incident underscored the unpredictable nature of opportunistic cyber defacements against non-profit entities, though the precise catalyst remained unverified.