Security News > 2020 > September > DoJ Indicts Two Hackers for Defacing Websites with Pro-Iran Messages
The Department of Justice has indicted two hackers - including one teenager - for allegedly vandalizing more than 50 websites hosted in the U.S. with pro-Iran messages.
The two allegedly replaced the content of these websites with pictures of Soleimani against a background of the Iranian flag, along with the message, in English, "Down with America." The two hackers allegedly took credit online for their website defacements.
The website of at least one U.S. government agency - the Federal Depository Library Program website - was also defaced during this time, with hackers behind the attack referencing Soleimani's death on the FDLP landing page, and including a picture of a bloodied President Donald Trump being punched in the face and pro-Iran messages.
The two allegedly started working together on or about Dec. 26, when Abusrour began providing Mahammadzadeh with access to compromised websites.
While the DoJ did not specify how the two allegedly accessed the websites, popular methods for compromise can include vulnerabilities in third-party plugins and stolen login credentials.