Cyber Incident Victim: Radio Tel Aviv
Date:
Oct 2015
Location:
Israel
Summary
A Palestinian hacker group identifying as "Anoncoders" compromised Radio Tel Aviv's website, replacing its content with an English-language message declaring their intent to "punish" Zionism and "Israhell." The station's broadcasts remained operational during the breach, but the defaced content persisted for over a day before being removed. This incident followed a pattern of cyberattacks against Israeli media outlets, though no additional technical disruptions beyond the website defacement were reported.
| 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 October 4 or 5, 2015, Palestinian hackers identifying as "Anoncoders" compromised the website of Radio Tel Aviv (http://102fm.co.il/). The attackers replaced the site's content with an English-language message declaring, "We are always here to punish you," and explicitly stated their "Main Target Is Zionisme And Israhell." The defacement persisted for over 24 hours before being remediated, indicating delayed detection or response by the station's web administrators. Radio Tel Aviv's broadcast operations remained unaffected during this incident, as the breach was limited to the website interface rather than core transmission systems. No data theft, service disruption to radio programming, or deeper network infiltration was reported in connection with this event.
This incident followed a pattern of digital attacks against Israeli media entities by politically motivated groups. During Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Hamas-affiliated hackers had briefly disrupted television broadcasts on Channel 10 and Channel 2, establishing precedent for targeting communication platforms during periods of geopolitical tension. The Radio Tel Aviv website defacement differed from the 2014 TV intrusions by focusing on ideological messaging rather than broadcast interruption, though both incidents demonstrated vulnerabilities in media infrastructure. No technical details regarding the attack vector, mitigation measures taken by the station, or law enforcement response were disclosed in available reporting. The prolonged visibility of the defacement message suggested operational impacts on the station's online presence and public communications capabilities for at least one full day.