Cyber Incident Victim: Prince Albert Police Service
Date:
Nov 2023
Location:
Canada
Summary
The Prince Albert Police Service website was compromised by the group Team System Dz, displaying pro-Islamic State propaganda and forcing the site offline temporarily. IT experts restored services, with officials confirming no sensitive data was accessed during the breach. The incident mirrored the group’s broader pattern of defacing North American institutional websites—including schools and government pages—with Islamist slogans and imagery, though operational disruptions were minimal. The police declined to elaborate on the perpetrators to avoid amplifying their visibility, noting such attacks highlight broader vulnerabilities to malicious cyber activity.
| 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 November 8, 2023, the Prince Albert Police Service—the law enforcement agency for Saskatchewan’s third-largest city—experienced a website defacement attack attributed to the hacker group "Team System Dz." The attackers replaced the police website’s content with a black screen displaying the message "I love Islamic State" alongside a looping audio track, forcing the agency to take the site offline. Officials confirmed the incident through a Facebook post, noting IT specialists had been engaged to investigate and restore services. Deputy Chief Jeff Rowden stated no sensitive data was accessed or stolen during the breach, emphasizing the event highlighted vulnerabilities for agencies and individuals. Sgt. Travis Willie, who authored the Facebook update, clarified the attack minimally impacted police operations beyond the temporary website unavailability. The Prince Albert Police Service had never previously encountered such an intrusion but affirmed it was implementing "proactive measures" to prevent recurrence. The agency declined to comment further on Team System Dz to avoid amplifying the group’s visibility.
Team System Dz had a documented history of similar defacements targeting North American entities. Days before the Prince Albert incident, the group hacked hundreds of U.S. school websites, displaying images of Saddam Hussein and messages like "There is no god but Allah." In 2017, they defaced U.S. state and government sites, including Ohio Governor John Kasich’s homepage, and in 2016, they compromised a Canadian food truck’s website with the phrase "I am Muslim and I love Jihad." Security platform Zone-H archives showed the group remained active globally at the time of the police breach. Prince Albert Police reiterated their apology for public inconvenience but maintained operational continuity throughout the incident. Restoration efforts were underway as of the article’s publication, though the website remained offline during reporting.