SiegedSec Hacks Heritage Foundation; Leaks Data Over “Project 2025”

Hacktivist group “SiegedSec” claims responsibility for a data breach at the Heritage Foundation, stealing details of a potentially controversial “Project 2025.” Learn more about the hack, the group’s motives, and the leaked data’s potential impact on the US political landscape.

In a brazen cyberattack, a group calling itself SiegedSec – self-described as “gay furry hackers” – infiltrated the servers of the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation.  SiegedSec claims to have stolen crucial data, including internal documents related to a controversial initiative known as “Project 2025.”

The attack occurred on July 2nd and the hackers released over 2 gigabytes of data on Tuesday, July 9th including emails, usernames, and passwords of Heritage and non-Heritage contributors. 

As seen by the Hackread.com Research Team, data contain information from 2007 to November 2022 about the right-wing media website The Daily Signal, linked to the Heritage Foundation. The leaked data also includes US government email addresses.

SiegedSec on Telegram announcing their hack (Screenshot: Hackread.com)

On the other hand, SiegedSec claims to have access to over 200 gigabytes of data, and that they have only released a small portion. Of particular concern is the data related to Project 2025. If authentic, this leak could expose the inner workings of a potentially far-reaching political agenda, with implications for the American government and society.

The group’s co-leader, known by the username Vio, told The Intercept that they are highly critical of Project 2025 and “everything the Heritage Foundation stands for.”

What is Project 2025?

Last week President Joe Biden tweeted about Project 2025 urging people to Google the term. However, details about Project 2025 are scarce, but reportedly, it outlines a roadmap for enacting a series of far-right policy changes if Donald Trump wins the 2024 US presidential election. It touches upon various issues such as abortion pills, family structure, diversity, equality, and immigration. 

However, Trump has distanced himself from the proposals, stating he is unaware of the project’s origins and disagrees with some of its statements. But former Trump administration officials Paul Dans and Spencer Chretien hold significant positions within the project.

Nevertheless, the hackers claim that the majority of the obtained files were “mostly useless.”

Chat between SiegedSec and the Foundation’s Executive Director

According to SiegedSec, the group was contacted by Mike Howell, the executive director of the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project. Howell expressed his anger over the hack and threatened the hacktivist group with consequences, including exposing their identities and arrests.

The chat between both parties is available here.

SiegedSec on Telegram talking about the chat (Screenshot: Hackread.com)

OpTransRights

The attack is a part of the hacktivists collective’s “OpTransRights” campaign, launched to disrupt government efforts to enact anti-trans and anti-abortion laws by targeting associated websites. The campaign targeted the Heritage Foundation because of its link with Project 2025.

Heritage spokesperson denied any system breach, stating the incident was a false narrative by criminal trolls, and that the organization was not “hacked” at any time.

SiegedSec Retires from Hacktivism

On its official Telegram account, while leaking the Heritage Foundation’s data, SiegedSec also announced its retirement from hacktivism and cybercrime. The group stated that their reason for retiring was to avoid the heat from law enforcement agencies, particularly the FBI, and to move on.

“Hello everynyan! the time has come for SiegedSec to disband :( yes this is a sudden announcement, we planned to disband later today or tomorrow, but given the circumstances, I believe it’s best we do so now. for our own mental health, the stress of mass publicity, and to avoid the eye of the FBI.”

“I’ve been considering quitting cybercrime lately, and the other members have agreed its time to let SiegedSec rest for good. in the past, i have tried quitting cybercrime a few times, and ive always been unable to fully quit. this time, hopefully, i am able to stay away from it for my own wellbeing. we may not be a cybercriminal group anymore, but we will always be hackers and always fighting for the rights of others.”

SiegedSec emerged in early 2022 as a “hacktivist” group targeting anti-LGBTQ+ groups. They hacked a US nuclear laboratory last year, demanding employees focus on “real-life cat-girls” research. They have also targeted government organizations, including NATO and Israeli companies for their compliance to the war in Gaza.