Army Websites Briefly Defaced: No Personal Data at Risk for Families

Two US Army websites were defaced by attackers who changed the visible content to display pro Kurdish messages and insults directed at former President Trump. The attackers used a technique called 404 hijacking, which involves manipulating error pages that appear when someone tries to visit a webpage that doesn't exist. After CyberScoop contacted Army officials about the defacement, the military took both websites offline. The affected sites were public facing information pages, not systems that store personal data. This incident does not affect families or their personal information. The defaced websites were Army information pages, not systems that collect or store data from civilian visitors. If you or a family member visited these Army websites recently, your computer is not infected and no personal information was taken.

This was a website defacement attack that changed what appeared on the screen, similar to digital graffiti. No databases containing personal records, email addresses, passwords, or other private information were involved. You do not need to take any action based on this incident. You do not need to change passwords, scan your computer, or check your accounts. If you visited Army websites for information about careers, benefits, or military programs, your visit did not put your personal data at risk. The Army has removed the affected websites and is addressing the security issue. Website defacements like this are disruptive and embarrassing for organizations, but they rarely put visitors at risk.

The real concern would be if databases containing personal information were breached. When you read about website attacks in the news, look for whether personal data was accessed. That detail determines whether you need to protect yourself by changing passwords or monitoring accounts.