Threat Actor Characterization
Herakles
ID: 3f2c21dbf7a7cc09419e0bf45e030c6984835| Héraklés | THTHerakles | — | — |
Actor Network Graph
Open Network GraphMITRE ATT&CK®
Claimed actor “Herakles” (associated with TurkHackTeam/THT) publicly claimed responsibility in mid-April 2015 for actions that rendered the Vatican website (vatican.va) inaccessible after Pope Francis' remarks about the 1915 Armenian massacres.
| Technique | Technique name | Tactics | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1498 | Network Denial of Service | TA0040 |
|
| T1491.002 | External Defacement | TA0040 |
|
Herakles — Member of TurkHackTeam (THT). Turkish Nationalist Hacker Collective
Classification: Unclassified / Open Source
Executive Summary
In mid-April 2015, an actor styling as Herakles (affiliated with TurkHackTeam, THT) claimed responsibility via Twitter and THT forum channels for disrupting the Vatican’s main website (vatican.va). The claimed motive was retaliation for Pope Francis' remarks on the 1915 Armenian massacres. The site was reportedly knocked offline for hours. The actor’s claims included media messaging, demands, and screenshots (captured by press). The original tweet is no longer live but was captured in contemporaneous news reports.
Confidence remains medium given absence of a public forensic/incident disclosure from the Vatican itself.
