CENTCOM, the U.S. military’s Central Command that oversees the U.S. military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and frequently posts videos of airstrikes on its social media accounts, had those accounts attacked on Monday.
The command’s Twitter and YouTube accounts were eventually taken offline, but not before a string of tweets and the release of military documents, some of which listed contact information for senior military personnel. A CENTCOM spokesman confirmed their accounts were “compromised,” and that the military was investigating.
The attacks were carried out by people claiming to be sympathetic toward the Islamic State, the Muslim group being targeted in American bombing raids.
The White House said it was monitoring the extent of the hacking incident.
Two U.S. defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the hacking was an embarrassment but that the images posted by the hackers did not appear to include classified information or pose a security threat.
The Twitter feed had several messages from hackers, including one telling American soldiers to “watch your back,” and the YouTube account had two videos that appeared to be linked to Islamic State.
While it was not clear that any Pentagon network had been compromised, it did appear that the hackers were successful in temporarily gaining control of Central Command’s Twitter feed, which is controlled through a password.
President Barack Obama separately on Monday announced new proposals aimed at bolstering American cybersecurity in the wake of recent high-profile hacking incidents including one against Sony Pictures Entertainment that U.S. officials have blamed on North Korea.
What is not being generally reported is that such attacks are probably carried out with the aid of “insiders” who have access to the passwords and computer systems that are compromised. Security can not easily protect when it is shutdown from the inside.
