Hackers claiming to be supporters of ISIS briefly took control of the official YouTube and Twitter accounts of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Monday and posted alleged sensitive internal documents and propaganda videos.
The main image on CENTCOM’s Twitter account was replaced by a hooded figure and the words “CyberCaliphate” and “I love you ISIS.”
Tweets that followed included: "AMERICAN SOLDIERS, WE ARE COMING, WATCH YOUR BACK. ISIS”; and "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the CyberCaliphate continues its CyberJihad."
The hackers also posted what they claimed to be a list of the home addresses of army generals, and of US attack strategies for China and Korea – although all seem to to be bogus, according to reports.
The YouTube channel, meanwhile, apparently featured two new pro-ISIS videos.
CENTCOM regained control over the accounts within the hour and posted a statement claiming that no operational military networks were compromised.
It added:
“Our initial assessment is that no classified information was posted and that none of the information posted came from CENTCOM's server or social media sites. Additionally, we are notifying appropriate DoD and law enforcement authorities about the potential release of personally identifiable information and will take appropriate steps to ensure any individuals potentially affected are notified as quickly as possible.”
Both accounts appear to be up and running as normal now, but the incident should be cause for the US army to revisit its security policies for social media, according to Tripwire senior security analyst, Ken Westin.
“The compromise of both the Central Command Twitter and YouTube accounts is an escalation that should cause concern for the US Government,” he said.
“Google and Twitter both provide two-factor authentication, it would be interesting to know if this was deployed on these accounts. If not it would show a serious lapse in security.”
CENTCOM is responsible for the US military’s operations in central Asia and the Middle East.