Hackers calling themselves “CyberCaliphate” threatened U.S. President Barack Obama and his family when they took control of Newsweek magazine’s Twitter account on Tuesday with the words “Je suIS IS,” a reference to Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the deadly attack at French newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
The group, which also took responsibility for hacking Pentagon social media accounts last month, tweeted “#CyberCaliphate Bloody Valentine’s Day #MichelleObama! We’re watching you, you girls and your husband!”
The Twitter account showed a head wrapped in a black-and-white scarf next to a banner proclaiming “CyberCaliphate.”
The “Je suIS IS” was a reference to the phrase “Je suis Charlie” that emerged last month in support of victims of the attack by Islamic militants on Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed 12 people.
Newsweek removed the “CyberCaliphate” banner and tweets and regained control of the account within 14 minutes, the magazine said. The ISIS militant group has seized territory in Iraq and Syria and has declared itself a “caliphate.”
The hackers also posted a message intended for the United States in retaliation for its actions in the Muslim world.
“While the U.S. and its satellites are killing our brothers in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, we are destroying your national cybersecurity system from inside,” it said.
The message contained a list of names under the heading “brave mujahideen.”
Twitter accounts vulnerable
The group took responsibility for the intrusion last month of the Twitter and YouTube accounts for the U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East. The hackers claimed to be sympathetic toward ISIS, which is being targeted in bombing raids by a U.S.-led coalition.
At the time, several current and former U.S. security and intelligence officials said they had never heard of the “CyberCaliphate.” They noted that Twitter accounts are more vulnerable to cyber intrusions than many company or federal government websites.
The attack on Central Command accounts in early January coincided with Obama’s announcement of proposals to bolster American cybersecurity after high-profile hacking incidents including one on Sony Pictures that U.S. officials blamed on North Korea.
The cyberattack on Tuesday occurred the same day that Obama’s counterterrorism co-ordinator, Lisa Monaco, announced the formation of a new government agency to monitor and analyze cybersecurity threats.
