Spokane winery’s website hacked with pro-Islamic State message

The Latah Creek Winery web site was briefly caught up in the war on terrorism Friday after it was hacked to show a pro-Islamic State message. A group called “Team System DZ” claimed credit for the hack that proclaimed the message “I am Muslim & I love jihad,” according to a screen shot of the web site captured by KHQ. The message, written in sometimes confusing English, also promised to purge the land of Muslims “from the hypocrites (sic) infidels.” Winery owner Mike Conway said his daughter discovered the hack around 3:30 p.m. and they were able to trace it to their advertising agency’s server. The agency’s IT department found that the problem was due to a Word Press plug-in. Businesses that use Word Press to build their websites can select from a variety of plug-ins to customize their sites. “One of those plug-ins was hacked,” Conway said. “So every site that has that plug-in across the country was affected.” Conway, who reported the attack on his web site to the FBI, said he believes more than 200 sites across the country were affected. “It wasn’t us specifically,” he said. “We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It really brings home the fact that this is a local problem that we all have to deal with.” Conway said the hack appeared to go unnoticed by his customers. Their site was restored by 5:30 p.m.