Cyber Incident Victim: Asia Times
Date:
Nov 2017
Location:
Israel
Summary
The Times of Israel and Asia Times websites were hijacked and defaced by suspected pro-Palestine Turkish hackers affiliated with Akincilar, replacing content with images of children waving Turkish flags and messages defending Gaza and Palestine alongside a Quranic verse in Turkish, Arabic, and English. The news outlets confirmed the cyberattacks, which disrupted services and prompted restoration efforts, while the hacking group had previously targeted Dutch websites with pro-Turkish messages during diplomatic tensions.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On November 2, 2017, the websites of The Times of Israel and Asia Times were compromised and defaced by hackers associated with the Turkish group Akincilar. The attackers replaced the main pages of both news outlets with images depicting children waving Turkish flags alongside a multilingual political message supporting Palestine and Gaza. The defacement included the statement: "Even if we remain the only people in the world, we will still defend Gaza and Palestine," accompanied by a verse from the Quran displayed in Turkish, Arabic, and English. This verse referenced divine provision and self-inflicted wrongdoing. The intrusion coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a historical document central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Times of Israel's editor, David Horovitz, publicly acknowledged the timing as "unfortunate" while condemning the attack's disruption of independent journalism about Israel.
Both media organizations confirmed the cyberattacks and initiated immediate recovery efforts. The Times of Israel and Asia Times stated they were working to restore normal website operations as rapidly as possible following the unauthorized access. Horovitz emphasized the attack's irony in targeting news organizations during a period of historical reflection. The hacking group Akincilar, whose name translates to "Raiders" in Turkish, had previously conducted similar operations against Dutch websites in March 2017 during diplomatic tensions between Turkey and the Netherlands. In those prior incidents, the group deployed pro-Turkish messages and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. No technical details regarding the intrusion method or duration of service disruption were disclosed by either affected organization in available reports.