Cyber Incident Victim: Fox News
Date:
May 2016
Location:
United States of America
Summary
Ghost Squad Hackers, a former Anonymous-affiliated group, executed distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against FOX News and CNN as part of their #OpSilence campaign, targeting mainstream media outlets they accused of insufficient coverage of conflicts in Palestine and Syria. The attacks disrupted the organization's email servers and were intended to recur throughout the operation, with potential expansion to other networks like NBC. This activity followed similar tactics used during their earlier #OpIcarus campaign, while other hacktivist collectives including CyberWarrior Army concurrently launched pro-Palestine cyber operations against additional entities such as U.S. government targets.
| 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 or around May 31, 2016, members of Ghost Squad Hackers—a former sub-division of the Anonymous collective—initiated a hacktivist campaign designated #OpSilence, targeting major U.S. media organizations including FOX News. The operation aimed to disrupt outlets accused of insufficient coverage of the Palestine conflict and alleged war crimes in Syria. Attacks commenced in early June 2016 with distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) strikes against FOX News and CNN infrastructure. Initial impacts included the disruption of email servers at both networks, rendering them temporarily inoperable. This mirrored tactics employed during Ghost Squad Hackers’ prior #OpIcarus campaign in May 2016, which similarly targeted financial institutions and media entities. The group publicly announced intentions to sustain attacks throughout June, explicitly threatening recurring assaults on FOX News and CNN while identifying NBC as a potential future target. Operational updates confirmed successful takedowns of email systems, though no data breaches or theft of sensitive information were reported.
The campaign occurred amid broader hacktivist activity supporting Palestinian causes, with groups like Crackas With Attitude (CWA) concurrently targeting U.S. government officials. Ghost Squad Hackers framed #OpSilence as a sustained effort to pressure media organizations over editorial decisions regarding Middle East coverage. No mitigation measures or public responses from FOX News were documented in available reports. The operational timeline indicated planned escalations, though subsequent impact severity remained unspecified beyond initial email server disruptions. Technical specifics regarding attack vectors, duration of outages, or collateral damage were not disclosed. The incident highlighted hacktivist focus on media entities as perceived enablers of geopolitical narratives, with disruptions limited to service availability rather than data compromise or permanent infrastructure damage.