ISIS hacks US Central Command’s Twitter and YouTube

In a poetic yet tragic fit of irony, the US central command’s Twitter and YouTube accounst were hacked by the Islamic State (Isis) just as President Barack Obama prepared to give a major speech on cybersecurity. The compromised Twitter account bore the message screencapped below, as well as what appeared to be images of internal US military documents. 

Immediately thereafter, the social media accounts taken down while Centcom commenced an investigation. Josh Earnest, agency spokesman, wants to make certain the public understands that there’s a clear distinction between hacking the actual US Central Command’s internal data systems, and hacking its social media accounts; the latter being more a PR stunt than a technological coup.

Nevertheless, the timing of the incident with the President’s speech couldn’t possibly bode any worse considering his speech was dedicated to reassuring Americans that after a year of colossal hacks, their personal information was safe. As the president neared the end of the speech, Centcom’s Twitter started spewing out Isis’ propaganda, while its YouTube account posted a pro-Isis video.

The hackers are boasting that the US military documents posted on Twitter are a demonstration of prowess, but so far, the BBC has discovered that at least one of the documents labeled as a “leak” was publicly available on the Pentagon’s website. Other documents seemingly list the names and phone numbers of members of the military as well as PowerPoint slides and maps. 

Source: BBC