ISIS Jihadist Hackers Attack U.S. Military's Twitter, YouTube Accounts
Sympathizers of the Islamic State militant group on Monday hacked the Twitter and Youtube accounts of the U.S. military command in-charge of operations in the Middle East.
"American soldiers, we are coming, watch your back!" the hackers posted on the Twitter feed of the U.S. Central Command, using an acronym for the hard-line Islamist group, which has taken control of parts of Syria and Iraq.
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the CyberCaliphate continues its CyberJihad," read another line posted by hackers siding with the Islamist militants, who have taken control of parts of Syria and Iraq and are now the target of American bombing raids.
The Command's YouTube page, meanwhile, contained I.S.I.S. propaganda videos showing militant fighters after being hacked.
U.S. officials have downplayed the cyber attack while acknowledging that the accounts were "compromised" for about 30 minutes.
The Defense Department "views this as little more than a prank, or as vandalism," Pentagon spokesman Army Colonel Steve Warren was quoted by Reuters as saying.
"It's inconvenient, it's an annoyance but in no way is any sensitive or classified information compromised," Warren told reporters in a press briefing.
Defense officials said in a statement that "operational military networks were not compromised and there was no operational impact to U.S. Central Command. CENTCOM will restore service to its Twitter and YouTube accounts as quickly as possible. We are viewing this purely as a case of cybervandalism."
The Command Central also denied that the hackers obtained and released classified documents, which the group claimed to have done.
"In the meantime, our initial assessment is that no classified information was posted and that none of the information came from CENTCOM's server or social media sites. Additionally, we are notifying appropriate D.O.D. 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."
Meanwhile, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters that the hacking was "something that we take seriously," but added that "there's a pretty significant difference between what is a large data breach and the hacking of a Twitter account."
However, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Republican Michael McCaul of Texas, found the incident "severely disturbing."
"Assaults from cyber-jihadists will become more common unless the administration develops a strategy for appropriately responding to these cyberattacks, including those like the North Korea attack against Sony," said the lawmaker.
On Monday, President Barack Obama announced new proposals seeking to strengthen American cybersecurity after high-profile hacking incidents took place, including an attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment that U.S. officials blamed on North Korea.
