SiegedSec, a group of self-proclaimed “gay furry hackers,” has taken responsibility for breaching the online databases of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank known for leading the right-wing Project 2025 playbook. As part of their series of hacks targeting organizations that are against transgender rights, SiegedSec has leaked a collection of Heritage Foundation material.
In a Telegram post announcing the hack, SiegedSec referred to Project 2025 as “an authoritarian Christian nationalist agenda aimed at reforming the United States government.” This attack was carried out as part of the group’s #OpTransRights campaign, which has previously targeted entities such as right-wing media outlet Real America’s Voice, the Hillsong megachurch, and a Minnesota pastor.
In the foreword of the Project 2025 manifesto, Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation, strongly criticizes “the normalization of transgenderism” and “the widespread promotion of transgender ideology.” The contributors of the playbook call for the reversal of certain policies, including the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.
“We are vehemently opposed to Project 2025 and everything the Heritage Foundation represents,” stated one of SiegedSec’s leaders, known as “vio,” in an interview with The Intercept.
In their Telegram post, SiegedSec claimed to have accessed passwords and user information for “all users” of a Heritage Foundation database, including Roberts and some U.S. government employees. The hackers mentioned that the remaining files, totaling over 200GB, were mostly insignificant.
The Intercept analyzed copies of the files shared with the transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets, which included an archive of the Heritage Foundation’s blogs and The Daily Signal, a media site affiliated with Heritage, as of November 2022.
This is not the first time the Heritage Foundation has been targeted. Earlier in the year, in April, Heritage shut down its network due to a cyberattack believed to be orchestrated by nation-state hackers. SiegedSec’s attack on the Heritage Foundation occurred in early June, according to vio, who denied any involvement in the previous breach.
A spokesperson for the Heritage Foundation declined to comment on the breach.
SiegedSec’s recent operations have also focused on opposing the war in Gaza by targeting NATO and Israeli companies. For more information, check out their recent activities.
