US military officials downplay social media hack

No sensitive information has leaked after two YouTube and Twitter accounts belonging to the US military were apparently hacked by "Islamic State" (IS) supporters on Monday, defense officials announced.

"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," said a statement from Central Command, which is responsible for the US-led air campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq.

"We are viewing this purely as a case of cybervandalism," the statement said.

A group calling itself CyberCaliphate apparently took over the CENTCOM Twitter account for less than an hour on Monday, replacing the CENTCOM logo with a message that said, "I love you ISIS."

"American soldiers, we are coming, watch your back," the group posted while it had control of the site. The hackers also posted what it claimed to be contact information for numerous military personnel.

The group then published a series of images and PowerPoint slides related to North Korea and China, as well as screenshots of defense documents that are usually treated as confidential, but not classified.

CENTCOM's YouTube account was also hacked and made to feature pro-IS videos.

US officials however downplayed the extent of the hack.

"CENTCOM didn't get hacked. Twitter got hacked," Col. Steven Warren said. "It's important to keep this whole thing in perspective. This is little more than a cyber prank. It's an annoyance," he said. "It in no way compromises our operations."

"There's a pretty significant difference between what is a large data breach and the hacking of a Twitter account," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

The CENTCOM Twitter and YouTube accounts both remain suspended while the incident is being investigated.

bw/sb (dpa, AFP)