Cyber Incident Victim: The Jerusalem Post
Date:
Nov 2017
Location:
Israel
Summary
The Times of Israel and Asia Times websites were hijacked and defaced by suspected pro-Palestine Turkish hackers affiliated with the Akincilar group, who replaced the sites' content with images of children waving Turkish flags and messages defending Gaza and Palestine. The defacement included a Quranic verse displayed in Turkish, Arabic, and English, alongside claims of disrupting "independent journalism on Israel." The attackers had previously targeted Dutch websites with pro-Turkish messages and DDoS attacks during diplomatic tensions. Both affected organizations confirmed the incidents and worked to restore services promptly.
| 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 November 2, 2017, the websites of The Times of Israel and Asia Times were compromised by hackers affiliated with the Turkish group Akincilar, which translates to 'Raiders.' The attackers defaced the main pages of both news outlets, replacing their content with images of children waving Turkish flags alongside a political message supporting Palestine and Gaza. The displayed statement read, 'Even if we remain the only people in the world, we will still defend Gaza and Palestine,' accompanied by a verse from the Quran in Turkish, Arabic, and English. The verse referenced divine provision and self-inflicted wrongdoing: "And we shaded you with clouds and sent down to you manna and quails [saying], 'Eat from the good things with which we have provided you.' And they wronged us not – but they were [only] wronging themselves." The hijacking temporarily disrupted normal website operations, preventing access to legitimate news content. Akincilar had previously conducted similar operations in March 2017, targeting Dutch websites with pro-Turkish messages and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks during diplomatic tensions between Turkey and the Netherlands.
Both affected organizations confirmed the cyberattacks and initiated recovery efforts. The Times of Israel's editor, David Horovitz, publicly addressed the incident, noting its timing coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration—a historical document supporting Jewish homeland establishment in Palestine—which he described as "unfortunate." Horovitz criticized the hackers for undermining independent journalism focused on Israel. Representatives from The Times of Israel and Asia Times stated their technical teams were working to restore full website functionality as swiftly as possible. The defacement caused temporary reputational and operational impacts, including the loss of reader access to news services during the hijacking period. No additional technical details regarding the attack vector, duration of downtime, or data compromise were disclosed by the sources. The incident highlighted Akincilar's continued use of website defacements as a tool for geopolitical messaging, aligning with their prior activities.