Facebook.com Domain in Jeopardy from SEA Hack

Wondering why it's still a good idea to run security software on your system even if you practice safe computing habits? One reason is because even legitimate websites get hacked, and depending on the extent of the attack, visiting what you thought was a benign domain could open up a can of worms. It doesn't matter how large the site is either -- just ask Facebook, latest victim of the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA).

Hackers representing the SEA tried to take control of the Facebook.com domain by hacking into the social networking site's registrar, MarkMonitor, which has a number of high profile clients and "strong security practices" in place, according to a SecurityWeek report. The hackers were successful in changing registrant contact information. Following the hack, SEA took to Twitter to brag about its shenanigans.


"Happy Birthday Mark! Facebook.com owned by #SEA," the tweet said.

The hackers also attempted to change the nameservers and claimed in a followup tweet that they were successful in doing so, but were ultimately thwarted because it was taking too long to go into effect.

It's been a busy couple of months for the SEA. In January, SEA hackers made headlines for infiltrating Microsoft's Twitter and Skype accounts and posting anti-hotmail messages. They also defaced Skype's Facebook page. Not long after, the SEA broke into Microsoft's blog.