Cyber Incident Victim: Greek Government
Date:
Jan 2020
Location:
Greece
Summary
Greek government websites, including the Prime Minister's, along with national police, fire service, and key ministries, experienced disruptions due to distributed denial-of-service attacks, marking the second such incident within a short period. A Turkish hacking group claimed responsibility for the prior attack, hijacking parliamentary and ministerial sites as well as the stock exchange, citing tensions over territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean, and Greece's exclusion from a Libya-related peace conference. The recent attacks coincided with diplomatic discussions in Athens ahead of the Berlin conference, which Greek representatives were not invited to attend.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On January 23, 2020, multiple Greek government websites experienced distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, causing operational disruptions. The incident affected the official website of the Prime Minister of Greece, along with sites belonging to the national police, fire service, and several key ministries including public order, interior, foreign affairs, and merchant marine. Government spokesman Stelios Petsas publicly confirmed the cyberattack, stating it resulted in malfunctions of targeted websites. The disruption occurred late Thursday, marking the second major cyber incident against Greek digital infrastructure within a week. Technical details about attack vectors or mitigation measures were not disclosed in official statements. No data breaches or unauthorized access beyond service disruption were reported in connection with this specific incident.
This attack followed a separate cyber incident the previous week where Turkish hacker group Anka Neferler Tim claimed responsibility for hijacking Greek parliamentary websites, ministry portals, and the national stock exchange for approximately 90 minutes. The group publicly justified their actions on Facebook, citing geopolitical tensions between Greece and Turkey regarding territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean, along with objections to Greece's involvement in Libyan affairs. These cyber operations coincided with diplomatic developments surrounding the Berlin peace conference on Libya, which excluded Greek representatives despite occurring shortly after Libyan General Khalifa Haftar's meetings in Athens. Both cyberattacks targeted critical government digital assets during periods of heightened regional diplomatic activity, though no direct connection between the two incidents was formally established by Greek authorities.