14 DAY TRIAL // A large number of websites belonging to the United States government have been hacked during the weekend, with evidence of new hacks also published on late Monday and early Tuesday.
Websites in Ohio and Maryland were taken down after hacking group Team System DZ compromised the index page with pro-ISIS and anti-Donald Trump messages.
The websites of Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Howard County, Maryland, were the first two that got compromised on Sunday, but further attacks also targeted the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, the Ohio Governor, the Ohio First Lady, the Office of Workforce Transformation, Office of Health Transformation and Medicaid.
Additionally, Team System DZ also targeted the Washington State Department of Health website, as well as a number of pages belonging to international organizations.
FBI already investigating
The defaced websites included a black wallpaper and an Arabic symbol, with an Islamic call to prayer running in the background. A message posted on the website expressed the support for Islamic State and included a warning to Donald Trump and Americans.
“You will be held accountable Trump, you and all your people for every drop of blood flowing in Muslim countries. I Love Islamic state,” the message read.
Most of the hacked websites have already been restored, and authorities in Ohio said they have already contacted the FBI to start an investigation.
“All affected servers have been taken offline and we are investigating how these hackers were able to deface these websites. We also are working with law enforcement to better understand what happened,” Tom Hoyt, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, was quoted as saying.
Team System DZ is a group of hackers active since at least November 2015, and their targets included not only websites in the United States, but across the entire world, including those belonging to French and Spanish authorities.