Cyber Incident Victim: Kars Municipality
Date:
Feb 2014
Location:
Turkey
Summary
RedHack conducted cyberattacks against Turkish government entities in protest of a controversial internet law, defacing a municipal website with protest messages and altering another to display zero gas prices while alleging government corruption. The group leaked police contact details, political party membership applications, and educational expenditure records, claiming these revealed systemic corruption and excessive spending. These actions were part of broader public demonstrations against legislation criticized for restricting free speech and lacking transparency.
| 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 February 2014, the Turkish hacktivist group RedHack initiated a series of cyberattacks targeting government and municipal entities in response to nationwide protests against Turkey’s newly enacted internet censorship law. The group first leaked approximately two dozen phone numbers belonging to police officials described as “murderer police chiefs and superintendents,” framing this as an initial disclosure with promises of further releases. Shortly afterward, RedHack defaced the official website of Kars Municipality (kars.bel.tr), replacing its content with protest messages condemning the internet legislation. Concurrently, they compromised the website of the Gas Distribution Authority of Sakarya (agdas.org), altering displayed gas prices to zero and declaring gas “free” in retaliation against government corruption. The hackers expanded their campaign by breaching the website of the City of Amasya, exfiltrating and publicly leaking membership applications for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). A fourth attack targeted Turkey’s Ministry of Education, with RedHack publishing school expenditure records and invoices on JustPaste.It, alleging “astronomical” and corrupt water billing practices. These coordinated intrusions aimed to disrupt government operations and amplify public dissent by exposing data perceived as evidence of systemic misconduct.
The attacks directly compromised municipal services in Kars and Sakarya by disrupting official websites, while the leaks of police contacts, party applications, and financial records created reputational and operational risks for multiple institutions. RedHack publicly claimed responsibility via Twitter, linking their actions to the broader anti-censorship protests occurring across Turkey. The incident drew international attention when the European Union criticized the internet law, with a spokesperson for the European Commissioner for Enlargement urging Turkey to align its legislation with European transparency standards. No containment measures or technical responses from the affected organizations were detailed in available reports. The campaign highlighted hacktivist capabilities to simultaneously disrupt digital services and weaponize leaked data, intensifying public scrutiny of government practices during a period of widespread civil unrest.