Cyber Incident Victim: Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region
Date:
Oct 2015
Location:
Belgium
Summary
Anonymous Belgian conducted DDoS attacks against multiple Belgian government websites, including the Prime Minister's site and the Brussels parliament, under operation #OpGuerilla. The hacktivist group claimed the attacks were retaliation against alleged government censorship and corruption, temporarily disrupting services before normal operations were restored.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 3 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On October 11, 2015, the online hacktivist group Anonymous Belgian executed distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against three Belgian government websites: the official site of Prime Minister Charles Michel (premier.be), the Brussels-Capital Region Parliament (parlbruparl.irisnet.be), and the Federal Public Services Home Affairs portal (ibz.fgov.be). The attacks occurred under the banner of #OpGuerilla, a campaign the group promoted through social media and a YouTube video. Anonymous Belgian publicly claimed responsibility via Twitter, framing the attacks as retaliation against alleged government censorship and corruption. Technical confirmation came from multiple sources: Demorgen verified the Home Affairs website disruption, while Flanders news outlet reported outages at both the Prime Minister’s and Brussels Parliament sites. The parliamentary website remained inaccessible for an unspecified but limited duration during the incident.
The attacks caused temporary service interruptions but did not result in prolonged downtime. All affected websites were restored to full functionality by October 14, 2015, when media coverage confirmed their operational status. No data breaches, defacements, or permanent damage to systems were reported. Anonymous Belgian’s YouTube statement explicitly linked the attacks to their political grievances, declaring, “The Belgian government challenged us. They should now take responsibility for their mistakes.” The group characterized its actions as defensive measures “to defend the people.” Belgian authorities did not disclose technical mitigation details or attribution efforts in available reports. No ancillary disruptions to government operations or follow-up attacks were documented in the immediate aftermath.