TeamHDP Compromises the Internal Messaging System of Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ)
The Venezuelan hacktivist group TeamHDP compromised the internal messaging system of Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) on August 16, 2021, and, using the court’s own system, sent mass messages to the country’s judges demanding the release of political prisoners. The messages included phrases such as “Freedom now for the 268 political prisoners kidnapped by the dictatorship. You are also responsible” and a reference to Padrino López (“For Padrino López, it’s 10 million dollars. Dead or alive”). The group also claimed to have downloaded information on all staff and collaborators within the court’s structure. The action was framed as a tribute to Óscar Pérez. The group has claimed responsibility; the TSJ has not issued an official statement confirming the breach.
Impact details
According to reports, TeamHDP compromised the TSJ’s internal messaging system, sent mass messages to judges, and apparently downloaded data on staff and collaborators. No official or forensic confirmation of the complete dataset has been found.
Classification & severity
- Category
- Information content security
- Subtype
- Leak of confidential information
- Confidence
- Medium
According to reports, the TeamHDP group breached the TSJ’s internal messaging system and downloaded personnel data; the publicly available evidence comes from media and security reports, not from official confirmation by the victim.
Severity assessment
High- Functional impact
- Minimal
- Information impact
- Government-sensitive
- Affected scope
- Organization-wide
- Critical service
- Potential
- Public confidence
- Moderate
- Recoverability
- Not recoverable
Leakage of sensitive government data or alleged leakage affecting defense, intelligence, or judicial systems; the publication of public data is the strongest argument in the cases involving the Navy and the DGCIM.
Timeline
TeamHDP gains access to the internal messaging system of Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ).
TeamHDP uses the TSJ system to send mass messages to judges demanding the release of political prisoners and claims responsibility for the attack.
The group claims to have downloaded information on all court staff and associates.
The security investigation by ringmast4r (Substack) documents the incident, including the date and details of the attack.