Attackers hijacked two US Army websites and replaced their 404 error pages with political messages targeting President Donald Trump and supporting Kurdish independence.
The attack affected websites operated by the Army’s Artificial Intelligence Integration Center (AI2C) and Open Innovation Lab (OIL). Army officials say the attackers only reached legacy web infrastructure. They found no signs that anyone accessed military networks or operational systems.
Attackers Altered 404 Error Pages
The attackers left the websites’ homepages untouched. Instead, they changed the pages that appear when visitors request invalid or unavailable URLs.
Those fake 404 pages displayed anti-Trump messages, criticized US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, and promoted a “Free Kurdistan” campaign. The content only appeared on broken links. Anyone browsing the main websites saw the normal pages.
This tactic let the attackers spread political messages without interrupting the websites’ primary functions.
Researchers Suspect a Legacy WordPress Platform
The US Army has not explained how the attackers gained access.
Cybersecurity researcher Ronald Lovelace, who first reported the incident, said both websites appeared to run on WordPress. He believes vulnerable plugins or weaknesses in the hosting environment gave the attackers a way to replace the 404 page template.
Army officials have not confirmed that theory. Investigators continue to examine the incident.
US Army Says Military Networks Stayed Secure
Army officials say a third-party provider hosted the affected US Army websites on a legacy platform. The service operates separately from the Army’s primary infrastructure.
Investigators found no evidence that attackers reached internal networks, operational systems, or sensitive military data.
As a precaution, the Army took both websites offline while investigators examined the breach and restored the affected services.
Legacy Government Websites Still Face Security Risks
The incident highlights the security risks that older government websites still face. Organizations often focus on protecting critical infrastructure, but attackers continue to target outdated public-facing platforms.
Older websites do not always receive the same level of maintenance as core systems. As a result, attackers can exploit outdated software or configuration mistakes. Even without reaching sensitive networks, they can spread political messages, damage public trust, and generate widespread attention.
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