Heritage Foundation clarified that the organization was not hacked and the hackers' claim was only a mere "false narrative and exaggeration."
A group of self-proclaimed "gay furry hackers" claimed responsibility for hacking the foundation earlier this month.
Heritage Foundation Says No Breach Occured
In an email to The Verge, the Heritage Foundation stated that the organization was not hacked and that the hackers were just trying to get attention by claiming responsibility for a crime. The organization alleged that the hackers stumbled upon a two-year-old archive from The Daily Signal website.
Foundation spokesperson Noah Weinrich clarified that the information from the website was limited to usernames, names, email addresses, and incomplete password information from Heritage and non-Heritage contributors.
"No Heritage systems were breached at any time, and all Heritage databases and websites remain secure, including Project 2025," he emphasized.
The foundation also announced that the data has been since taken down and that its team has added security layers as a form of precaution.
'Gay Furry Hackers' Allegedly Disbands Amid the Incident
In an X post, Mike Howell, the executive director of the foundation's Oversight Project claimed to have forced the hackers to disband. The post contained the chatlogs between a member and Howell on Signal.
Howell later confirmed that the conversations were legit. The chatlogs showed threats against the Furries, citing that they would be soon identified and out in the public. The group members are also given the option to cooperate or turn themselves in.
A SiegedSec representative shared with The Verge that they already expected that Heritage would deny the hacking incident. The organization also stated that the incident was targeted to expose the foundation's anti-LGBT and anti-abortion policy proposals.
