This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21879230
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Hackers attack several BBC Twitter accounts | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Several BBC Twitter accounts, including its weather, Arabic and Radio Ulster feeds have been hijacked by a group calling itself Syrian Electronic Army. | Several BBC Twitter accounts, including its weather, Arabic and Radio Ulster feeds have been hijacked by a group calling itself Syrian Electronic Army. |
| A series of tweets about fake weather conditions in Middle Eastern countries began appearing on Thursday afternoon. | A series of tweets about fake weather conditions in Middle Eastern countries began appearing on Thursday afternoon. |
| The accounts are the latest in a series of large corporate Twitter feeds to have been breached. | The accounts are the latest in a series of large corporate Twitter feeds to have been breached. |
| The BBC said that it was aware of the problem and was working on a fix. | The BBC said that it was aware of the problem and was working on a fix. |
| A BBC spokesperson said: "We are aware that in the past few hours several BBC Twitter accounts have been hacked. We are actively working on this and expect it to be resolved shortly." | A BBC spokesperson said: "We are aware that in the past few hours several BBC Twitter accounts have been hacked. We are actively working on this and expect it to be resolved shortly." |
| Alongside the standard tweets from the weather feed such as "'last night was chilly" some more bizarre comments began emerging. | Alongside the standard tweets from the weather feed such as "'last night was chilly" some more bizarre comments began emerging. |
| They included: "Saudi weather station down due to head-on collision with camel." | They included: "Saudi weather station down due to head-on collision with camel." |
| Another read: "Chaotic weather forecast for Lebanon as the government decides to distance itself from the Milky Way." | Another read: "Chaotic weather forecast for Lebanon as the government decides to distance itself from the Milky Way." |
| The group claiming responsibility has previously spread messages in support of Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad. | The group claiming responsibility has previously spread messages in support of Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad. |
| The BBC's Arabic and Radio Ulster feeds were also affected. | The BBC's Arabic and Radio Ulster feeds were also affected. |
| Faris Couri, BBC Arabic's editor-in-chief said in a statment: "Today at around 11.00GMT, BBC Arabic's twitter account @BBCArabicOnline was hacked. Since then, several pro-Assad news tweets were published by the account. | |
| "We strongly condemn such action and apologise to our audiences," he said. | |
| The account has now been restored. | |
| Social engineering | Social engineering |
| The attacks on the BBC are the latest in a series of hacks on high-profile Twitter accounts. | |
| Last month Burger King and Chrysler saw their Twitter feeds hijacked while a quarter of a million Twitter users had their passwords stolen. | Last month Burger King and Chrysler saw their Twitter feeds hijacked while a quarter of a million Twitter users had their passwords stolen. |
| "The BBC is an obvious place to attack as it a trusted brand and so anyone who wishes to broadcast a message can reach a audience that are likely to pay attention, certainly initially," said Prof Alan Woodward from the department of computing at the University of Surrey. | "The BBC is an obvious place to attack as it a trusted brand and so anyone who wishes to broadcast a message can reach a audience that are likely to pay attention, certainly initially," said Prof Alan Woodward from the department of computing at the University of Surrey. |
| "The most likely source of the hack is via social engineering - someone managing to elicit the password by fooling the user who keeps the password," he added. | "The most likely source of the hack is via social engineering - someone managing to elicit the password by fooling the user who keeps the password," he added. |
| Increasingly experts are now calling for Twitter to step up security and offer two-factor authentication, essentially a disposable, single-use password for its users. | Increasingly experts are now calling for Twitter to step up security and offer two-factor authentication, essentially a disposable, single-use password for its users. |
| Writing about the hack on his blog, security consultant Graham Cluley said it was unclear how the password had been cracked. | Writing about the hack on his blog, security consultant Graham Cluley said it was unclear how the password had been cracked. |
| "The good news is that the hack doesn't appear to have been done with the intention of spreading malicious links or scams. Instead, it appears that the Syrian Electronic Army are trying to spread political messages about Syria instead," he said. | "The good news is that the hack doesn't appear to have been done with the intention of spreading malicious links or scams. Instead, it appears that the Syrian Electronic Army are trying to spread political messages about Syria instead," he said. |
| "You should always use hard-to-guess, hard-to-crack, unique passwords for your online accounts that you are not using anywhere else on the web." | "You should always use hard-to-guess, hard-to-crack, unique passwords for your online accounts that you are not using anywhere else on the web." |