An anti-fascist Israeli hacking group has hacked a website belonging to a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) affiliate, exposing the names, personal information, and pictures of the racist organization’s members.
According to a report from the Jerusalem Post, the website of the Patriotic Brigade Knights of the KKK was breached by hackers identifying as an anti-fascist collective by the name Hayalim Almonim - Hebrew for “Anonymous Soldiers.”
In a statement to the Post, the politically active hackers said that neo-nazi and other white supremacist groups “believe that Jews have an all-seeing eye.”
“Our objective is to strike terror into the hearts of the enemies of humanity,” they told the Post. The hackers added that the group wanted to “make their fantasies a reality, and exploit their conspiracy theories as a form of psychological warfare”.
Initially, the hackers altered the home page of the website to read "SHABBAT SHALOM! GOODNIGHT WHITE PRIDE ;)" and other phrases such as “JEWISH SOLIDARITY WITH ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLES”.
Hayalim Almonim also shared a link to the Texas Public Sex Offender Registry, where a senior member had been registered for the rape of a 14-year-old girl. The hack also included details of the supremacist organization’s supposed leader, including his picture, phone number, date of birth, and email address.
The hackers have also carried out similar attacks on the Church of the Ku Klux Klan, which is active in 25 states.
Paul Bischoff, privacy advocate at Comparitech.com, told IT Pro that it’s easy to get caught up in schadenfreude whenever anything bad happens to the KKK, but would caution against treating these hackers as heroes.
“Even though I strongly disagree with pretty much everything the KKK does and stands for, I don't think outing members through use of force so they can be named and shamed is the right way to go about it. No matter what nonsense you believe in, everyone deserves privacy and safe spaces. Aside from the hack presumably being illegal, it also invites retaliation, which leads to escalation of conflict,” he said.
Javvad Malik, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, told IT Pro that whenever anyone's personal information is leaked, it can lead to real-world consequences – “and in the case of mistaken identity, could lead to innocent people being harassed or worse,” he added.
