GSH WIKIPEDIA SOURCE PA

''[[Ghost Squad Hackers]]'' or by the abbreviation "''[[Ghost Squad Hackers|GSH]]''" is a politically motivated [[Hacktivism|hacktivist]] team led by the administrative defacto leader known as "s1ege". The groups prime intent and focus is embedded on anti-governmental/organization cyber protests within current involvements of media speculation and real life happenings in 2016 to present.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.techrepublic.com/article/interview-with-a-hacker-s1ege-from-ghost-squad-hackers/|title=Interview with a hacker: S1ege from Ghost Squad Hackers|work=TechRepublic|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en}}</ref>

In Jan. 2016, ''GSH'' started its very first attacks by the defacing of [[Government of Ethiopia|Ethiopian government]] websites in response to the killing of nearly 500 students and activists by Ethiopian Security Forces during protests that became extremely violent in the latter part of 2015 and then sparked again in August-October of 2016 [[2016 Ethiopian protests|Ethiopian protests]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fossbytes.com/ghost-squad-hackers-hack-ethiopian-website-in-response-to-killing-of-students-during-protest/|title=Ghost Squad Hackers Hack Ethiopian Websites In Response To Killing Of Protesting Students|last=Shekhar|first=Amar|date=2016-01-07|work=Fossbytes|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en-US}}</ref> They then went on to target [[Donald Trump]] with [[Distributed-denial-of-service|Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)]] attacks in protest of what they saw as racist comments made towards Mexicans and refugees.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.scmagazine.com/anonymous-offshoot-claims-to-have-taken-down-trump-sites/article/487429/|title=Ghost Squad Hackers hit Trump sites with DDoS attacks|date=2016-04-04|work=SC Media US|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en}}</ref>

The group gained more notoriety after having successfully leaked data of the [[Israel Defense Forces|Israeli Defense Force]] on April 7th , 2016. This was the day  [[OpIsrael|#OpIsrael]] was launched along with [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]], leaking the Database of [[Israel Defense Forces|Israel Defense Force]] posting thousands of [[Israel Defense Forces|IDF]] soldiers, boarder patrol, and [[Israeli Air Force]] personnel information online.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/anthony-tyler/ghost-squad-hackers-release-massive-data-leak-israeli-defense-force/|title=Ghost Squad Hackers Release Massive Data-Leak From The Israeli Defense Force|date=2016-04-07|work=The Last American Vagabond|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en-US}}</ref>

On April 23, 2016 ''GSH'' targeted the ''[[Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan]]'' by taking their websites down in the protest of racism while [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] vs. [[Ku Klux Klan|KKK]] protests were happening in the state of Georgia, U.S.A.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hackread.com/anonymous-ghost-squad-ddos-on-kkk-website/|title=Anonymous Ghost Squad's DDoS Attack Shuts Down KKK Website|last=Waqas|date=2016-04-24|work=HackRead|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en-US}}</ref> ''Ghost Squad Hackers'' did the same however, in a turn of events taking down [[Black Lives Matter|''Black Lives Matter''']]''s'' official [https://blacklivesmatter.com/ website] after claiming the organization fueled further racism. After encountering further opposition and confrontation between [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] activists and [[Black Lives Matter|BLM]] group that led to GSH shutting down [https://blacklivesmatter.com/ ''Black Lives Matter's'' website] over 100 times.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/anonymous-ghost-squad-hackers-take-down-black-lives-matter-website-503579.shtml|title=Anonymous Ghost Squad Hackers Take Down Black Lives Matter Website|last=Cimpanu|first=Catalin|work=softpedia|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en-us}}</ref>Word was quick to spread as GSH and [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] were both put in spot light by the TV Series [[Mr. Robot]] in an article published online.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.usanetwork.com/mrrobot/blog/anonymous-groups-attacked-black-lives-matter-website-for-six-months|title=Anonymous Groups Attacked Black Lives Matter Website for Six Months {{!}} Blog {{!}} Mr. Robot {{!}} USA Network|date=2016-12-14|work=USA Network|access-date=2018-03-16|language=en}}</ref>

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''GSH'' and ''[[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]]'' worked in correlation together when “[https://security.radware.com/ddos-threats-attacks/threat-advisories-attack-reports/opicarus2017/ Operation Icarus]” was first launched in February of 2016<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rt.com/uk/342958-opicarus-anonymous-bank-england/|title=OpIcarus: Anonymous hackers shut down Bank of England, call for ‘online revolution’|work=RT International|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en-US}}</ref>. The op was aimed at attacking the [[Rothschild banking dynasty|central banking system]] which the attackers accused the banks with corruption and wanted to raise public awareness. This attack sparked the invitation of more hacking teams and affiliations of [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] to focus their attention towards that of the [[Rothschild banking dynasty|Central Banks]] in direct regards of further scrutiny and cyber attacks.

''Ghost Squad Hacker’s'' leader ‘s1ege’ claimed responsibility for the attacks which were carried out on the [[Bank of England note issues|Bank of England]] email server and dozens of other banking websites including the [[New York Stock Exchange]], [[Bank of France]], [[Bank of Greece]], [[Bank of Jordan]] and the Bank of South Korea, among others. "s1ege" went on to state that they want to “start an online revolution” to retaliate against the “elite banking cartels putting the world in a perpetual state of chaos.”<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/opicarus-anonymous-shuts-down-bank-england-12-more-international-banks-1559859|title=OpIcarus: Did Anonymous just hack the Bank of England?|last=Ashok|first=India|date=2016-05-13|work=International Business Times UK|access-date=2018-03-16|language=en}}</ref>

Notoriety of the group continued to escalate as the heat was turned up during the month of June, 2016. After censoring of media coverage in regards to [[OpIsrael]], [http://news.softpedia.com/news/anonymous-announces-opsilence-month-long-attacks-on-mainstream-media-504760.shtml OpSilence] was initiated targeting mainstream media outlets such as [[CNN]] and [[Fox News]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digitalforensicsmagazine.com/blogs/?p=1274|title=Expert Opinion on #OpSilence attack on CNN email servers|website=digitalforensicsmagazine.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-03-14}}</ref> A data dump was later leaked after hacking the [[United States Armed Forces|United States Military]] personnel files and releasing information on close to 2,437 army personnel.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/ghost-squad-hackers-leak-data-of-us-military-personnel-505606.shtml|title=Ghost Squad Hackers Leak Data of US Military Personnel|last=Cimpanu|first=Catalin|work=softpedia|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en-us}}</ref> The information contained in the link was uploaded to an [[Onion Link|onion link]] on the [[Darknet|dark web]] along with a [[Pastebin.com|paste-bin]] link which contained credit card numbers and personal information on [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] personnel.

July 19, 2016 the sub domain of [https://www.brla.gov/ Baton Rouge City government website] was hacked twice in one day by by ''GSH'' after previously making news after attack towards both the [[Ku Klux Klan|KKK]] and [[Black Lives Matter|BLM]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hackread.com/baton-rouge-city-website-hacked/|title=Baton Rouge City Website Hacked Against Alton Sterling's Death|last=Waqas|date=2016-07-19|work=HackRead|access-date=2018-03-20|language=en-US}}</ref> These attacks however were targeting the City of [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]] in protest against police brutality in which a city native [[Shooting of Alton Sterling|Alton Sterling]] was shot and killed by [[Baton Rouge Police Department|Baton Rouge police]] officers on the 5th earlier that month. The [https://www.brla.gov/ Baton Rouge website] was defaced along with a picture of [[Shooting of Alton Sterling|Alton Sterling]] with a message that read, "Being black is not a crime! This is for the shooting of [[Shooting of Alton Sterling|Alton Sterling]], just because he's black does not mean he is a bad guy. You will pay. We are the justice. We are Ghost Squad Hackers. /R.I.P. [[Shooting of Alton Sterling|Alton Sterling]]."

Later in the same month ''GSH'' took over the official [[Twitter]] account of [[Abdullah Abdullah|Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Abdullah]] in an effort to raise awareness against corruption and alleged drug deals between [[Afghanistan]] and the [[United States|U.S.]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hackread.com/twitter-account-dr-abdullah-hacked/|title=Twitter Account of Afghan Chief Executive Dr. Abdullah Hacked|last=Waqas|date=2016-07-31|work=HackRead|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en-US}}</ref> They also targeted the [http://dab.gov.af/en/page/about-the-bank/departments/cib Afghan Public Credit Registry website] by defacing it which also further allowed them access to several social media accounts including [[Abdullah Abdullah|Dr. Abdullah’s]] in which they tweeted,

“[[AfghanistanGovernement|Afghanistan Gov]] Hacked by [[Ghost Squad Hackers|GhostSquadHackers]] #CheifExecutiveOfficer Can you hear me now? twitter.com/afgexecutive. We found an exploit in the government server and pulled every login we could. We have more also but [[Abdullah Abdullah|Dr. Abdullah]] was not using phone restriction and 2FA was not enabled,” a member of ''GSH'' stated.

The attacks on the [[Politics of Afghanistan|Afghan government]] continued relentlessly on the first of September after prior targeting of Afghanistan’s Chief Executive [[Twitter]] account, ''GSH'' further assaulted the government by defacing twelve websites in one day all of which were affiliated with the [[Politics of Afghanistan|Afghan government]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/ghost-squad-hackers-deface-12-afghan-government-websites-507900.shtml|title=Ghost Squad Hackers Deface 12 Afghan Government Websites|last=Cimpanu|first=Catalin|work=softpedia|access-date=2018-03-14|language=en-us}}</ref> This included the [[Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)|Afghanistan’s Ministry of Justice]], the [[Ministry of Defense (Afghanistan)|Ministry of Defense]], the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, and the [[Attorney General's Office of Afghanistan|Afghan Attorney General’s Office]]. Further assaults continued in hopes of raising awareness for [[Palestinian territories|Palestine]] as part of [http://news.softpedia.com/news/anonymous-announces-opsilence-month-long-attacks-on-mainstream-media-504760.shtml OpSilence] and [[OpIsrael]] after shutting down the Israeli Prime [[Prime Minister of Israel|Minister]] and the [[Bank of Israel]]. [https://www.hackread.com/ghost-squad-attacks-israeli-prime-minister-site/]

The groups focus in 2017 shifted slightly towards targeting [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]] and removing them off the [[internet]] and [[social media]] completely. A multitude of accounts from [[Facebook]], [[Twitter]], and [[Telegram (messaging service)|Telegram]] alike were hacked and added to an extensive list of [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]] removed.

Further efforts by ''GSH'' later revealed bomb instructions and plans to be carried out by ISIS.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sott.net/article/371139-Anonymous-hack-finds-plans-for-US-attacks-and-bomb-making-by-ISIS|title=Anonymous hack finds plans for US attacks and bomb-making by ISIS -- Sott.net|website=Sott.net|language=en-US|access-date=2018-03-14}}</ref> A guide was also published as an [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] move to help enlist the talent of other hackers in hopes to further the attack on ISIS.

The influence of ''Ghost Squad Hacker’s achievements have'' made a large impact on the modern day fine grey line that borders that of activists and hackers alike, helping to raise awareness towards both corporate and governmental injustices.