Cyber Incident Victim: Athens-Macedonia News Agency
Date:
May 2018
Location:
Greece
Summary
Turkish hackers defaced the Athens-Macedonia News Agency's website, posting messages accusing Greece of supporting terrorists, and later targeted a local Suzuki subsidiary. In retaliation, Greek hackers affiliated with Anonymous disrupted a Turkish television broadcaster and claimed compromise of over 12,000 Turk Telecom routers, accompanied by political accusations against Turkey's government. The attacks involved mutual recriminations over asylum cases involving Turkish military personnel in Greece and the detention of Greek soldiers in Turkey. Both sides threatened further cyber operations amid escalating bilateral tensions, reflecting a broader pattern where digital confrontations substituted for traditional diplomatic or military disputes. The incidents underscored the potential for cyber campaigns to exacerbate international friction during politically sensitive periods.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 2 techniques |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On May 7, 2018, Turkish hacker group Akincilar (Invaders) hijacked the website of the Greek state-run Athens-Macedonia News Agency (ANA-MPA), replacing its content with a defacement message in Turkish and English. The message accused Greece of supporting terrorists. The same group subsequently defaced the Greek webpage of Japanese automaker Suzuki, displaying identical accusations. The Greek Foreign Ministry acknowledged these incidents on May 10, stating cyber attacks were "being neutralized immediately by the responsible authorities" without elaborating on technical containment measures or identifying affected systems beyond the compromised websites.
In retaliation, hackers affiliated with Anonymous Greece paralyzed Turkish television station Top Channel 24 TV and claimed to have compromised 12,987 routers belonging to Turk Telecom. Their public statement on Medium.com condemned Turkish President Erdogan's policies toward Kurds and referenced geopolitical tensions, including Greece's asylum grant to eight Turkish officers and Turkey's detention of two Greek soldiers who crossed the border during adverse weather. Anonymous Greece asserted control over Turkish infrastructure, warning of potential future attacks. Akincilar responded by escalating threats against Greek nationals, invoking historical conflicts and warning they would be "thrown into the sea" alongside accusations of supporting FETO, a group Turkey designates as terrorist. The cyber exchanges occurred amid heightened bilateral tensions ahead of Turkey's general elections, with University of Thrace lecturer Jorgos Tzogopoulos characterizing the incidents as symptomatic of deteriorating Greece-Turkey relations. No additional technical impacts beyond website defacements, service disruptions, and router compromises were documented in available reporting.