US Centcom Twitter account hacked by pro-Islamic State “CyberCaliphate”
The US Central Command (Centcom), perhaps the most powerful unified command in the US military armoury, has had its Twitter account hacked and made to read “I love you isis.”
The Twitter account, which is run by Centcom, was hacked by a group calling themselves the “CyberCaliphate.” The hackers replaced Centcom’s profile picture with an image of what can be assumed to be an Islamic State fighter, and the words “CyberCaliphate” and “I love you isis.” Centcom's YouTube account was also affected: it hosted two pro-Islamic State videos.
The account was used to tweet messages containing contact details for US military personnel, but the information was not said to be classified, while one tweet showed US soldiers with a goat. It was not immediately clear how the account was hacked, and at the time of writing it was still suspended by Twitter for breaching community guidelines.
Centcom is one of nine commands which divide up the globe (see picture) and for geopolitical reasons is arguably the most important. It covers the Middle East, stretching from Egypt in the west to Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. As such, it is responsible for the areas of Iraq and Syria claimed by the Islamic State and has been responsible for airstrikes that have affected the jihadists' progress.
Source: CENTCOM