CBS Twitter Feed Hacked, “Syrian Electronic Army” Claims Responsibility
It's another day, so that means only one thing: another Twitter account hijack. This latest incident comes courtesy of the "Syrian Electronic Army", a group that actively hijacks websites and accounts of entities that produce Syrian-related news that it deems hostile or inaccurate. Not one, but two accounts have been affected; @60Minutes, which has over 300,000 followers, and @CBSDenver, one with close to 25,000.
As of the time of writing, @60Minutes remains inaccessible, with Twitter citing an account suspension. Twitter itself hasn't disclosed any information regarding the hijacking, and for that reason, I don't think calling it a "hacking", as the BBC calls it, is appropriate. It's unlikely that the group got through via an exploit; rather, these accounts could have had simple passwords. There are a variety of other possibilities, but to jump on the "hacking" train with so little information is a bit hasty.
A couple of the messages posted to @60Minutes included, "The US government is hiding the real culprit of the Boston bombing, "Obama wants to destroy the Syrian and American people." and "Syrian Electronic Army Was Here via @SyrianCyberArmy".
While little damage was arguably done here, this incident once again highlights the need to keep accounts secure - especially corporate accounts like these.