<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1656525444210,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017c-2d8e-d3f3-a7fc-7ffef6720000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1656525444210,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017c-2d8e-d3f3-a7fc-7ffef6720000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_56525286", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1043121"} }); ","_id":"00000181-b09c-d578-a1dd-babe45240000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedA group of self-described hacktivists is threatening to leak the personal data of members of conservative state governments in retaliation for restricting abortion access.
The group, known as SiegedSec, announced on Monday that it had released 8 gigabytes of internal data from the Arkansas and Kentucky governments in an attempt to penalize them for regulating abortion following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
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However, the group said these two states will not be the only ones.
“THE ATTACKS WILL CONTINUE!” the group announced in a Telegram post announcing the data release. “Our main targets are any pro-life entities, including government servers of the states with anti-abortion laws.”
While the hacker group has not stated its next targets, the results of its government hack have been lackluster.
“Information pertaining to Kentucky has been identified, and while initial indications are that this is publicly available data that does not include personally identifying information, the state will continue its investigation,” Crystal Staley, a spokeswoman for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, told the Record.
Arkansas officials echoed these notions, stating that the released data were not as private as the hackers implied. Government officials “became aware that a so-called hacktivists group claimed to have accessed and downloaded internal documents from the State of Arkansas systems,” said Shealyn Sowers, a spokeswoman for Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican. “After initial analysis, our security teams have determined that there was no access beyond what is publicly available, and only public record data was seen or downloaded.”
The systems in question “did not sit on the state of Arkansas network but rather in a public cloud provider,” Sowers said. “We continue to remain vigilant as we go about the process of keeping our systems secure.”
SiegedSec allegedly formed in late February 2022, according to security analysis firm DarkOwl. The organization has defaced and compromised at least 11 websites with “crude and juvenile” language and graphics, as well as several thousand compromised LinkedIn profiles.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The group has also allegedly gained access to sensitive information from at least 30 different companies since its founding.
Representatives from Kentucky and Arkansas did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Examiner.
