Gay Furry Hackers Breach Heritage Foundation’s Online Databases
In a surprising turn of events, a group of self-proclaimed “gay furry hackers” called SiegedSec has taken credit for breaching the online databases of the Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation is a conservative think tank known for spearheading the right-wing Project 2025 playbook. This hack is part of a series of cyberattacks aimed at organizations that oppose transgender rights. As a result of their breach, SiegedSec has released a cache of Heritage Foundation material.
SiegedSec referred to Project 2025 as “an authoritarian Christian nationalist plan to reform the United States government” in a post on Telegram announcing the hack. This attack is part of their larger #OpTransRights campaign, which has recently targeted other right-wing entities such as Real America’s Voice, the Hillsong megachurch, and a Minnesota pastor.
Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, expressed his strong opposition to transgenderism and the propagation of transgender ideology in his foreword to the Project 2025 manifesto. The playbook’s contributors also called for the reversal of certain policies, including the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
One of the leaders of SiegedSec, who goes by the handle vio, stated in an interview with The Intercept, “We’re strongly against Project 2025 and everything the Heritage Foundation stands for.” This sentiment reflects their motivation behind targeting the Heritage Foundation.
According to SiegedSec’s announcement on Telegram, they were able to obtain passwords and user information for every user in the Heritage Foundation database, including Kevin Roberts and some U.S. government employees. However, they mentioned that the remaining files they obtained, totaling over 200GB, were mostly useless.
The Intercept had the opportunity to review copies of the files provided by SiegedSec to the transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets. These files included an archive of the Heritage Foundation’s blogs and a media site aligned with the Heritage Foundation called The Daily Signal, as of November 2022.
Interestingly, this is not the first time the Heritage Foundation has been targeted by hackers this year. In April, the organization experienced a cyberattack that led to the temporary shutdown of its network. Although the attack was tentatively attributed to nation-state hackers, SiegedSec claims to have targeted the Heritage Foundation in early June, denying any involvement in the previous attack.
The Heritage Foundation declined to comment on the breach when contacted by reporters.
SiegedSec has also been involved in other recent operations, targeting NATO and Israeli companies to oppose the war in Gaza. Their actions demonstrate their commitment to using hacking as a means to support causes they believe in.
In conclusion, the breach of the Heritage Foundation’s online databases by SiegedSec sheds light on the ongoing battle between opposing ideologies. This incident highlights the vulnerability of organizations to cyberattacks and raises questions about the security measures in place. It also underscores the growing influence of hacktivist groups in shaping public discourse and challenging established institutions.
