Cyber Incident Victim: Americanmuslim
Date:
Sep 2016
Location:
United States of America
Summary
A hacker using the alias MuslimLeets, also known as Muj4hida, defaced the American Human Rights Council and 62 other websites with messages calling for jihad, affecting businesses run by doctors, lawyers and real estate firms and shutting down the sites of two local Arab‑Muslim groups, the American Muslim Leadership Council and the Arab and Muslim American Political Action Committee. The attack originated on the council’s server and spread to other hosted sites, prompting the webhost Novocam and law enforcement to investigate; the defacement messages were later removed and the affected sites are being restored from backups.
| 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 September 14‑16, 2016, a hacker using the alias MuslimLeets (also known as Muj4hida) carried out a two‑day hacking spree that targeted the American Human Rights Council and 62 additional websites, for a total of 63 sites. The attacks affected businesses ranging from medical and legal practices to real estate firms. According to a Softpedia report, the hacker gained access to the servers of the American Human Rights Council and then used that foothold to compromise other sites hosted on the same Novocam infrastructure. Novocam founder Mohammad Abdulaziz noted that while the company regularly faces weekly hacking attempts, this incident was the most sophisticated they had encountered.
The compromised websites were defaced with messages calling for jihad, written in grammatically poor English. The defacement read: 'This message for Muslims peoples! Our brothers in Syria & Palestine & Iraq & Burma & Chichan & Ifriquia & asia are dying Stop follow and imitate western people in Wrong culture And forget about your religion. This message is for The governments of all worlds! I do not admit to the Wrong law. My law is quran. We are going back. Asalamu Alaikum.' Among the affected sites were those of the American Muslim Leadership Council and the Arab and Muslim American Political Action Committee, both of which were completely shut down as a result of the hack. AHRC executive director Imad Hamad confirmed the breach, stating that the hacker had somehow gained access to their servers.
Novocam reported that the defacement messages were removed and that the old server would be destroyed, with all affected websites restored from backups within a few hours. Imad Hamad expressed that the attack did not intimidate the organization, noting that promoting human rights naturally draws hostility from radical terrorists who oppose such values. Abdulaziz emphasized that the company has seven network administrators investigating the source of the attack and that law enforcement authorities were also involved in the investigation.