Cyber Incident Victim: Wayne County Sheriff's Department
Date:
May 2015
Location:
United States of America
Summary
The Wayne County Sheriff's Department experienced a website defacement and data breach by the hacktivist group AnonGhost, which leaked employee login credentials including usernames, emails, and hashed passwords. The attack, part of the #OpUSA campaign targeting U.S. entities, featured a political message condemning the United Nations and U.S. government for alleged human rights abuses and terrorism, while expressing solidarity with Palestine. AnonGhost confirmed the legitimacy of the previously undisclosed database and threatened further attacks against government and private websites.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 2 techniques |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On May 18, 2015, the official website of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department in Indiana was compromised by the hacktivist group AnonGhost as part of their #OpUSA campaign targeting US-based entities. The attackers defaced the website, replacing its content with a political message condemning the United Nations and the US government for alleged human rights violations, military actions, and fostering global instability. The defacement page explicitly stated, "This Message Is Addressed To United Nations: you have failed as expected... we’re aware! you are the real terrorists!" alongside claims of solidarity with Palestine. Concurrently, AnonGhost exfiltrated and publicly leaked the department’s employee database, which contained login credentials including usernames, email addresses, and hashed passwords. The group disseminated previews of the defaced site and the stolen data through online links, with full datasets hosted on platforms like ghostbin.com. This breach exposed internal authentication systems and validated the attackers’ unauthorized access to sensitive departmental information.
AnonGhost confirmed their involvement in an exclusive discussion with cybersecurity news outlet HackRead, declaring their intent to persist in targeting both US government and private sector websites. The group cited opposition to US foreign policy and support for Palestinian causes as motivations for the attack. Analysis of the leaked database confirmed its authenticity, verifying that it originated from the Sheriff’s Department and had not been previously disclosed in other incidents. The compromised credentials created operational security risks for the department, potentially enabling further unauthorized access to internal systems or affiliated platforms. No statements from Wayne County officials regarding containment measures, forensic investigations, or system restoration were documented in the available source material, leaving the scope of post-incident response actions unverified. The incident underscored the susceptibility of local government digital infrastructure to ideologically motivated cyber intrusions during this period.