Anonymous: Members of the hacktivist collective Anonymous targeted a website belonging to the United Nations (UN). The specific page which was defaced was the UN’s Economic and Social Council web page. The group defaced the website with the Taiwanese flag, the green flag of Taiwan’s independence movement, and the Kuomintang party of Taiwan, all of which were accompanied by the message “Taiwan Numbah Wannnn!!” The UN has since taken the page down but has yet to comment on the defacement.
Analyst Notes
Anonymous has a long history of opposing China and supporting Taiwan. Currently, it is unclear why this specific attack was carried out, although it is possible that it was simply a target of opportunity. Members of Anonymous routinely target a wide variety of websites which they believe will help to draw attention to their causes. In some instances, this means attacking organizations that are not directly tied to their cause at all but will help to draw attention to their cause. One such instance took place during 2017 when the group attacked Nissan Japan as part of their OpWhales campaign, which opposed the whaling industry. Although Nissan has no connection to the whaling industry, its size and status in Japan served to draw attention to the group’s cause. More information on this attack can be found at https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/tech-auto/hacking-collective-anonymous-reportedly-hacked-u-n-website-added-taiwan-back-in/06/02/
