The self-described “gay furries” in the hacking group known as SiegedSec have expanded their campaign against five states for their stances on transgender issues.
The group, which earlier this month leaked data from the Texas city of Forth Worth, claimed on Wednesday that it had breached government websites belonging to the states of Nebraska, South Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and once again Texas.
In an announcement on the breaches, which encourages readers to “be gay do crime,” SiegedSec says it targeted the Nebraska Supreme Court Intranet, the website for the South Dakota Boards and Commissions, personal information from the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, Pennsylvania’s Provider Self-Service website, as well as the website for the South Carolina Criminal Justice Information Services.
“We have proudly defaced the South Dakota Boards and Commissions website! We left little special messages across their site,” the group wrote. “Unfortunately, they have now fixed the defacement. Since it seems South Dakota didn’t appreciate our gift, we will offer gifts to someone else. We’ve hacked and leaked documents from the Nebraska Supreme Court Intranet and South Carolina Criminal Justice Information Services.”
The hacking group also went on to state that it retrieved health-related information out of Texas and caused disruptions to systems in Pennsylvania. Most troubling, SiegedSec claimed it came across over 15,000 childcare records, although it has no intention of publishing them.
“We have planned the next attacks carefully, and we have ensured to give Texas another gift soon,” their announcement said in closing. “Enjoy this leak >w< gay furries own the government.”
The Daily Dot reached out to each of the affected state entities for comment, none of which replied by press time. The South Dakota Boards and Commissions, however, had an error message on its homepage at the time of writing. The website for the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council was down completely when checked by the Daily Dot as well.
The data reportedly leaked from the Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council, as examined by the Daily Dot, appeared to be a list of information on licensed medical practitioners. Such data is public and searchable by visitors to the state entity’s website.
Another file allegedly obtained from the Nebraska Supreme Court Intranet included the names and cell phone numbers of several hundred probation officers as of April 2023. The Daily Dot called several of the numbers and were met by answering machines mentioning the names of the officers.
The information from South Carolina Criminal Justice Information Services largely included law enforcement training materials and presentations on everything from flying while armed to cybersecurity.
While much of the information itself might not be sensitive, the hackers’ campaign has certainly drawn attention. The attacks appear to be a continuation of the group’s campaign against states it sees as opposing gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
However, Brett Callow, threat analyst with the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, cautioned skepticism towards the hacking group.
“It shouldn’t be assumed that SiegedSec’s motivation is as straightforward as they say,” Callow told the Daily Dot.” Hacking photos of potholes and other fairly non-sensitive data seems like a very odd way of protesting a state’s policies.”
