U.S. military Twitter, YouTube accounts hacked

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Twitter and YouTube accounts for the U.S. military command that oversees operations in the Middle East were hacked on Monday, Jan 12, by people claiming to be sympathetic toward the Islamic State militant group being targeted in American bombing raids, Reuters reported.

"American soldiers, we are coming, watch your back, ISIS," the hackers posted on the U.S. Central Command Twitter feed, using an acronym for the hardline Islamist group, which has taken control of parts of Syria and Iraq.

U.S. officials acknowledged that the incident in which the accounts were "compromised" for about 30 minutes was embarrassing but played down the impact. The FBI said it was investigating.

Pentagon spokesman Army Colonel Steve Warren said the Defense Department "views this as little more than a prank, or as vandalism."

"It's inconvenient, it's an annoyance but in no way is any sensitive or classified information compromised," Warren told a press briefing, according to Reuters.

Defense officials said in a statement that "operational military networks were not compromised and there was no operational impact."

Islamic State forces have been targeted in air strikes by the United States and international partners. "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the CyberCaliphate continues its CyberJihad," the Central Command Twitter feed said after being hacked.

The Twitter account published a list of generals and addresses associated with them, titled "Army General Officer Public Roster (by rank) 2 January 2014."

Subsequent posts read, "Pentagon Networks Hacked! China Scenarios" and "Pentagon Networks Hacked. Korean Scenarios."

Central Command said it was notifying Pentagon and law enforcement authorities about the potential release of "personally identifiable information" and work to make sure the people "potentially affected" are notified quickly.

After the hacking, the heading of the Central Command Twitter account showed a figure in a black-and-white head scarf and the words "CyberCaliphate" and "I love you ISIS."

Central Command's YouTube account featured videos posted by the U.S. military of air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq. It was hacked to add two videos titled "Flames of War ISIS Video" and "O Soldiers of Truth Go Forth."