ISIS sympathizers hack U.S. Central Command Twitter feed

A group calling itself the “CyberCaliphate” hacked the Twitter account of the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) on Monday, posting what appeared to be names and office addresses of U.S. military generals.

A Defense Department official confirmed Centcom’s account was compromised and said the agency was “taking appropriate measures to address the matter.” (Shortly after the hacking, Centcom’s Twitter account was suspended.)

The cyber-attack on Monday afternoon included a series of Twitter posts and threats against American soldiers, along with messages like: “ISIS is already here, we are in your PCs in each military base.” Another post warned: “American soldiers, we are coming, watch your back.”

Less than a week ago, a group calling itself the CyberCaliphate hacked the Twitter accounts of at least two American newsrooms.

Editors at WBOC in Maryland told The Columbia Journalism Review their reporters lost access to the station’s Twitter account on Jan. 7, and soon watched as posts from the CyberCaliphate appeared. Messages included: “INFIDELS, NEW YEAR WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER.”

The Albuquerque Journal reported a similar attack on its Twitter account on the same day. FBI officials said they were looking into the incidents.

After the Centcom hack attack, a Pentagon official said the information posted on the hijacked account didn’t appear to be classified. White House spokesman Josh Earnest played down the cyber-attack against the government agency: “There is a significant difference between … a large data breach and the hacking of a Twitter account.”

Still, the listing of names and office addresses of top military officials by purported Islamic State supporters on a hacked government account is an unnerving security breach—particularly for a military command post responsible for bolstering U.S. security interests in 20 countries, including most of the Middle East.