NBC News' Twitter account was hacked by the “Script Kiddies” on Friday, with tweets claiming that a plane had crashed into Ground Zero.
The hoax came just days before the 10th anniversary of the 11 September terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, in New York, that claimed some 3 000 victims. The US was on high alert this weekend after receiving intelligence that new attacks were in the works.
The first tweet stated: “Breaking News! Ground Zero has just been attacked. Flight 5736 has crashed into the site, suspected hijacking. More as the story develops.”
The hackers then proceeded to post another update claiming that another plane was not responding to authorities. Going even further, a third tweet stated: “This is not a joke, Ground Zero has just been attacked. We're attempting to get reporters on the scene #groundzeroattacked”.
A minute later, the hackers tweeted: “NBCNEWS hacked by The Script Kiddies. Follow them @s_kiddies!” That Twitter account has since been suspended.
Irresponsible
NBC had Twitter temporarily shut down its account in order for it to regain control. NBC's chief digital officer, Vivian Schiller, tweeted at the time:
“The NBC News Twitter account was hacked late this afternoon and as a result, false reports of a plane attack on Ground Zero were sent to @NBCNews followers. We are working with Twitter to correct the situation and sincerely apologise for the scare that could have been caused by such a reckless and irresponsible act.”
At the time, a representative from the group was quoted as saying: “Fox News was selected because we figured their security would be just as much of a joke as their reporting.”
Bad attachment
According to NBC, the hackers are now under investigation by the FBI. The news agency has also said it suspects the hackers gained access to the site after an NBC employee clicked on a malicious e-mail attachment.
Mashable reports that only three NBC company executives have the account password for the Twitter account, but that its social media director, Ryan Osborn, had received a strange e-mail two weeks ago.
The e-mail told Osborn to get off Twitter “immediately”, saying he should protect his family from the hurricane. When Osborn asked who the e-mail was from, the response was another e-mail with an attachment - which Osborn mistakenly opened.
Officials believe the hackers send phony e-mails with an attachment that monitors repetitive keystrokes, allowing them to crack passwords.
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