Cyber Incident Victim: Republic of Turkey
Date:
Jan 2014
Location:
Turkey
Summary
The RedHack collective targeted multiple high-profile Turkish organizations, exploiting a cross-site scripting vulnerability on the Parliament's website to send a government message. They breached the State Railways, leaking internal files, and compromised the Contractors Association, exposing usernames and unencrypted passwords. The group also infiltrated a political party's regional email systems, publishing communications allegedly revealing corrupt activities. RedHack announced intentions to disclose additional breaches following these operations.
| 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
In early January 2014, the Turkish hacker collective RedHack executed a series of cyber intrusions against multiple high-profile Turkish government and organizational entities. The group first exploited a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability on the Turkish Parliament’s official website (tbmm.gov.tr), manipulating the flaw to display a political message directed at the government. This initial attack served as both a technical demonstration and a symbolic act of protest. Shortly afterward, RedHack breached systems belonging to the Turkish State Railways (TCDD), exfiltrating and publicly leaking internal files purportedly containing sensitive operational data. Simultaneously, the group compromised the Turkish Contractors Association (tmb.org.tr), extracting and leaking what they identified as user credentials stored in clear text format, exposing authentication vulnerabilities within the organization’s infrastructure.
The operations expanded to include the infiltration of email systems at the Izmir headquarters of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), where RedHack claimed access to correspondence allegedly evidencing corrupt activities. These emails were subsequently published online, amplifying the incident’s political ramifications. RedHack publicly announced these breaches through coordinated disclosures, framing their actions as exposés of institutional misconduct. A representative from the group indicated intentions to reveal additional compromises in subsequent hours, signaling an ongoing campaign. The cumulative impact included temporary disruption of parliamentary web services, reputational damage to targeted entities through data leaks, and heightened scrutiny of cybersecurity practices across Turkish state-affiliated organizations, particularly regarding unpatched web vulnerabilities and insecure credential storage methods. No official containment measures or responses from affected organizations were detailed in available reporting at the time of disclosure.