The website of the Texas Republican Party was the victim of an apparent hacking attack over the weekend and remained mostly offline on Monday.
The attack appeared to have been committed by individuals affiliated with the Anonymous movement; pages of the site were replaced with images of Pokémon, links directing users to the YourAnonNews Twitter account, and pop artist Rick Astley’s viral meme hit Never Gonna Give You Up.
Motivation for the hack was centred around the state’s new abortion ban, which prohibits the practice after six weeks of the pregnancy and has effectively stopped abortions in some parts of the state altogether.
Attackers also provided a link to the website of Planned Parenthood of Texas and stated in a video describing the attack as “Operation Jane” that they planned to launch similar hacking efforts aimed at interfering with any public or private entities associated with enforcing the abortion ban through its unique provision offering rewards of up to $10,000 to private citizens who file successful lawsuits against those accused of aiding an abortion after six weeks of the pregnancy.
No lawsuits have yet been filed under the state’s new law, which went into effect on the first of September. Abortion rights activists were hoping that an emergency plea for relief at the Supreme Court would halt the law from taking effect, but the court’s newly-cemented conservative majority declined to do so.
On Monday, the Texas Republican Party appeared to have regained partial control of the site; none of its usual content was available, and all URLs redirected to a splash page that outlined the attack and asked for donations. The extent of the Anonymous hack could still be seen on Internet Archive screenshots from over the weekend.
“While the nation paused over the weekend in remembrance of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 the Republican Party of Texas website was hacked,” read the website on Monday, adding: “Pro-abortion activists targeted us because of our strong support for the Heartbeat Act. This attack adds to a growing list of actions by the radical left who tries to silence anyone that disagrees with them.”
“We have been able to secure our website, but make no mistake, threats and attacks like this only strengthen our resolve,” the website added.
HeroDanTV on September 13rd, 2021 at 21:37 UTC »
BREAKING NEWS: Anonymous sources now claiming that Hunter Biden’s laptop turned on by itself and took over the website. Tucker Carlson to provide videos of the laptop becoming sentient once he receives the DVD he burned of the videos and mailed to himself for copyright reasons arrives. “I didn’t get a tracking number because only the fanatical left uses things like microchips in Covid vaccines to track stuff!” he reportedly yelled at a cashier taking his order. “Sir, this is a Chili’s!” they allegedly replied.
RetroBowser on September 13rd, 2021 at 19:17 UTC »
So I just went to look at the website and it's already back in control of the GOP who have now used it to talk about the "radical left" and use the hack as a grifting opportunity to get donations.
Because of fucking course they need donations to help the true american patriots defend their state from hackers who want to put pokemon all over the website. /s
Yeeaaaarrrgh on September 13rd, 2021 at 19:15 UTC »
If they can't get it fixed in the next six weeks, they should have to leave it that way.
EDIT: Well this turned into something! I greatly, greatly appreciate the awards, but please don't spend your hard earned dollars on me. Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and several other organizations could use all the support they can get. Thanks!
EDIT 2: Another kind redditor posted this, and I am reposting.
Resources for Texans seeking access to healthcare:
https://aidaccess.org/en/
https://teafund.org/
https://wrrap.org/about-wrrap/
https://abortionfunds.org/
If you need help getting an abortion go to these sites:
https://www.plancpills.org/
https://aidaccess.org/
These sites offer access to abortion pills, even in Texas. Please be safe and be aware of clinics (e.g. Crisis Pregnancy Centers) that give out dangerous misinformation on abortions and pregnancy.
Also check out r/auntienetwork for support
If you want to give money to some pro-choice charities, try here:
https://fundtexaschoice.org/
http://janesdueprocess.org/
https://www.lilithfund.org/
https://www.theafiyacenter.org/
https://thebridgecollective.org/
https://www.clinicaccess.org/
https://www.yellowhammerfund.org/ (Focuses on the Deep South)
https://avowtexas.org/
https://abortionfunds.org
Please feel free to copy and share this to other posts/subreddits and to add your own links
THIS INFORMATION WAS GATHERED BY ANOTHER REDDITOR NOT ME. I AM SHARING THE INFORMATION AT PLACES ON HERE THAT NEED IT. Instead of upvoting, maybe you can copy and paste somewhere else?