ISIS Followers Hack US Central Command Twitter and Post Messages Praising Allah, Threaten 'ISIS Is Already in Each Military Base'
The U.S. Central Command Twitter and Youtube accounts were hacked on Monday by pro-ISIS supporters who posted threats and messages praising Allah. The accounts have since been cleared and are back running on Tuesday, with CENTCOM saying it will be investigating the case of cybervandalism.
"These sites reside on commercial, non-Defense Department servers and both sites have been temporarily taken offline while we look into the incident further. CENTCOM's operational military networks were not compromised and there was no operational impact to U.S. Central Command," CENTCOM said in a statement.
"Our initial assessment is that no classified information was posted and that none of the information posted came from CENTCOM's server or social media sites. Additionally, we are notifying appropriate DoD 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."
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CENTCOM's Twitter account, which has over 109,000 followers, had its profile photo and background cover image replaced by an image of a masked jihadist and the text "CyberCaliphate" and "I love you ISIS."
The hackers posted messages such as "American soldiers, we are coming, watch your back, ISIS," and "In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, the CyberCaliphate continues its CyberJihad."
Another post read "ISIS is already here, we are in your PCs, in each military base."
A list of generals and addresses associated with them, titled "Army General Officer Public Roster (by rank) 2 January 2014" was also published.
The hack on CENTCOM's Youtube page uploaded several pro-ISIS music videos.
Reuters reported that the FBI is investigating the situation, while Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said that the Defense Department believes the incident is no more than a prank.
"It's inconvenient, it's an annoyance but in no way is any sensitive or classified information compromised," Warren said.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest insisted in a press briefing that the hack was "something that we take seriously," but also said that there's a "pretty significant difference between what is a large data breach and the hacking of a Twitter account."
ISIS, or the Islamic State as it's also known, is engaged in a war with the U.S. and its allies in Iraq and Syria, where the terror group has managed to capture a number of towns and cities.
The militants have made it their mission to establish an Islamic Caliphate on the region, while the U.S. and its allies have been attempting to stop their advances through conducting airstrikes on terror targets and aiding local forces who are fighting against the jihadists.
Followers of the "CyberCaliphate" group have left their mark on a number of U.S. media outlets, and have previously hacked the Twitter accounts of The Albuquerque Journal and Maryland's WBOC 16.
