Cyber Incident Victim: Richland County Parks Commission
Date:
Mar 2015
Location:
United States of America
Summary
Pro-ISIS hackers affiliated with Team System DZ compromised multiple Richland County, Wisconsin government websites, including the Parks Commission, Sheriff's Department, and municipal services, replacing content with pro-ISIS messages condemning the US and Israel. The attackers defaced the sites with jihadist propaganda and declarations of support for ISIS, mirroring prior incidents targeting US government entities. All affected websites were restored following the breach.
| 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 March 21, 2015, pro-ISIS hackers operating under the name Team System DZ, identified as Moroccan, breached multiple government websites in Richland County, Wisconsin. The attackers compromised the Richland County Sheriff’s Department website alongside other high-profile county sites, including the City of Richland Center Municipality, Parks Commission, Ambulance Service, Richland County Fair & Recycling, Land Conservation Department, and Richland County Fitness Center. Hackers replaced the legitimate content of these websites with a defacement page displaying the message: "Hacked by Team System Dz! I am a Muslim & I love jihad, I love ISIS | Fuck Israel & USA." The defacement explicitly declared support for ISIS and targeted the United States and Israel. Zone-h mirrors provided public evidence of the compromises. This incident aligned with a broader pattern of pro-ISIS cyber activity targeting U.S. entities, including prior attacks on military personnel data, the Newsweek Twitter account, and the Isle of Wight, Virginia website earlier in 2015.
The attack disrupted public access to critical county services and informational portals, though no data theft or secondary malware deployment was reported. All affected websites were restored to normal operation by the time the incident was publicly documented. The defacement’s political messaging amplified concerns about ISIS-affiliated groups targeting local U.S. government infrastructure for propaganda purposes. Richland County, with a population of 18,021 as of the 2010 census, faced no further publicized cyber incidents linked to this group following the restoration. No technical details regarding the initial breach vector, detection methods, or internal containment procedures were disclosed in available reporting.