Newsweek's Twitter account was commandeered by a group claiming to be connected with the Islamic State Tuesday for about 15 minutes and spewed threatening messages to First Lady Michelle Obama, with publication's Twitter banner switched out for one featuring a Black Standard flag and a masked man.
The incident, which Newsweek confirmed in an apology note to readers, took place in late morning. Newsweek states a group calling itself "Cypher Caliphate," connected with ISIS, took over the Twitter account about 10:45 a.m. EST and held it hostage until Twitter regained control of the account at 11 a.m. The group reportedly posted a tweet stating "watching you, you [sic] girls and your husband!" referring to the first lady.
"We can confirm that Newsweek's Twitter account was hacked this morning, and have since regained control of the account," Kira Bindrim, Newsweek managing editor, said in a statement. "We apologize to our readers for anything offensive that might have been sent from our account during that period, and are working to strengthen our newsroom security measures going forward."
Also hacked Tuesday, by reportedly the same group, was the Twitter account of a military veteran organization called Military Spouses of Strength and the website of International Business Times, was also hacked.
The Cypher Caliphate group has claimed responsibility for past similar hacks including pop singer Taylor Swift's Twitter account and @Centcom, the Twitter account of the United States Central Command.
The hacking incidents come as the federal government has been warning current and former military personnel to clean out social media accounts and be much more wary when participating in online forums and social networks. In late December, as Tech Times reported, the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent out a joint intelligence alert relating to a perceived threat from ISIS groups reportedly tracking social media activity, as well as radical sympathizers.
The FBI is investigating Tuesday's hacking incidents, states a report, and the White House issued no comment regarding the threats made to the first family.
During the Newsweek hack the group posted a statement in the publication's feed.
"While the US and its satellites are killing our brothers in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan we are destroying your national cybersecurity system from inside," the hackers posted, noting the group has "confidential documents from the US National Cybersecurity [sic] Center."
The security hacks will likely once again put a big spotlight on social network security and raise concerns about account privacy and protection, both hot topics given the notable hacking of Sony Entertainment's network, which reportedly is costing the conglomerate millions of dollars. The damage to its brand has been hefty as well given the release of embarrassing emails exchanged by Sony executives.
