Hacking gang SiegedSec says it has leaked eight gigabytes of data stolen from two US state governments online in protest at the overturning of the decision in the Roe v Wade case, which guaranteed women in the US the right to an abortion. The group says it will embark on a hacktivist campaign against “pro-life entities” in the US following last week’s decision by the US Supreme Court.
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SiegedSec’s first data dump is eight gigabytes of information purportedly stolen from the state governments in Arkansas, where abortion has been entirely banned, and Kentucky, which has outlawed it except in very specific circumstances.
A post on the group’s Telegram channel appears to show documents containing information on property transactions, featuring personally identifiable information of citizens.
Why has SiegedSec turned hacktivist after Roe v Wade decision?
Declaring that it is “time for some hacktivism”, SiegedSec said: “Like many, we are also pro-choice, one shouldn’t be denied access to abortion.”
The group’s statement continues: “As added pressure to the US government, we have leaked many internal documents and files retrieved from Kentucky’s and Arkansas’ government servers. These docs have plenty of employee PII (personally identifiable information) and lots more.”
It added that “the attacks will continue”, stating: “Our main targets are any pro-life entities, including government servers of the states with anti-abortion laws. Keep protesting, keep yourself safe, f*** the government.”
SiegedSec also used its post to reassure followers that while pursuing its Roe v Wade hacktivism the group will “still do blackhat stuff”, referring to its more usual activities of stealing data from private sector companies.
Tech Monitor has contacted the state governments in Arkansas and Kentucky for comment on the allegations.
Who is SiegedSec?
The gang was first spotted by security researchers in February, and has since provided evidence that it has gained access to sensitive information and leaked emails from 30 companies, according to researchers at security company DarkOwl. The researchers note that the group does not appear to have a pattern when it comes to targets, with companies it is said to have breached spanning the globe, and covering sectors including healthcare, IT, and finance.
SiegedSec also has form for hacktivist-type activities, and claims to have accessed and defaced more than 100 different websites this year.
The motivations behind SiegedSec’s operations are also unknown. No public demands for ransom have been issued by the gang, but screenshots obtained by DarkOwl of a chat between its leader, a hacker known online as YourAnonWolf, and representatives of Indian media company NewsVoir, from which SiegedSec is thought to have stolen 27Gb of information, appear to show YourAnonWolf asking for money in exchange for the return of the data.
It is thought SiegedSec is closely linked to GhostSec, a prominent dark web hacking gang which has been active in targeting Russian organisations during the war in Ukraine.
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