North Mundham Primary School

Summary

North Mundham Primary School in Sussex experienced a website defacement by Turkish nationalist cyber group Ayyildiz Tim, which replaced the site with a white background, a red logo, and messages in Turkish and English, including a note stating "HELLO ADMIN SYSTEM HACKED." The incident prompted significant parental concern regarding child safety, leading to a police investigation that confirmed no specific threat existed. Sussex Police addressed the reports and considered deploying reassurance patrols to the school while directing inquiries to a specific case reference.

Motives

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TTPs

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Description

On April 23, 2017, North Mundham Primary School in Chichester, Sussex, experienced a website defacement incident involving unauthorized access and malicious content alteration. The attackers, identified as Turkish nationalists associated with the cyber hacking group Ayyildiz Tim, replaced the school’s website with a plain white background featuring a red logo linked to the group. Ayyildiz Tim self-identified as "patriotic" virtual soldiers focused on countering anti-Turkish messaging and conducting propaganda activities. The defaced site displayed a prominent English-language message reading "HELLO ADMIN SYSTEM HACKED : ) : )" accompanied by background music. Additional content in Turkish appeared on the compromised site, though specific translations were not detailed in public reports. The unauthorized modifications caused immediate disruption to the school’s online presence and communication channels.

Sussex Police launched an investigation following multiple reports from concerned parents who encountered the hacked website and expressed fears about potential threats to student safety. Authorities confirmed the incident involved digital intrusion but clarified there was no "specific threat" to the school community. Police reference 1137 of 23/04/17 was assigned to the case, with patrols planned for the following Monday morning to provide reassurance if deemed necessary. The incident prompted formal police advisories urging anyone with additional information to contact law enforcement via designated channels. While the hack caused significant parental anxiety and operational disruption, no physical security breaches or direct threats to individuals were substantiated during the investigation.

Sources

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