One of the top universities in China has allegedly been hacked by a person linked to the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to local media reports on Monday, Jan. 18. 

The hacker invaded Tsinghua University's internal network replacing several pages of students and faculty members' images with photos and audios of masked militants declaring support for the holy war or jihad. Aside from that, its course portal showcasing links to class and department information showed Arabic verses quoted from the Quran with music playing in the background and an image of four hooded fighters riding a horse under the ISIS flag, according to a student newspaper.

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The phisher made himself known as the "Islamic State Hacker." The translated message posted on the website says "God is great, I am unafraid of death, dying a martyr's death is my ultimate goal."

China's state-run media has extensively reposted the student newspaper article, but the original story has since been removed. Meanwhile, the website's maintenance department has refused to give comment or confirm the incident. After the phishing was detected on Sunday evening, Tsinghua immediately shut down its server.

One of the university's technicians, who participated in the investigation, pointed out that the compromise might possibly be the result of a weak password. The technician claimed that it is implausible for IS to get through Tsinghua's firewall.

Last year, the Islamic State pronounced China as one of its 18 enemies. If this hacking incident turns out to be true, it will be the first instance that the People's Republic has been attacked by the militant group. China is known for its stringent control of the online world, deleting sensitive contents and even denying access to some Western websites.

TagsISIS, hacking, Islamic State hacker