ISIS hackers attack French television network

Europe, Middle East, News April 9, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) hackers attacked French television network TV5Monde on Wednesday evening, taking hostage the broadcast of its TV channels, websites and Facebook page, according to the network.

“We are no longer able to broadcast any of our channels. Our websites and social media sites are no longer under our control and are all displaying claims of responsibility by the Islamic State,” the broadcaster’s director general Yves Bigot told AFP.

The hackers reportedly uploaded various photos to TV5Monde’s Facebook page, claiming to be personal IDs and resumes of relatives of French soldiers who fought in anti-IS operations. Threats were issued towards them. The pictures were allegedly visible for a short time and then disappeared.

Director of TV5Monde, Hélène Zemmour, said this was the biggest cyber-attack the network has seen in the past 30 years, FranceTVInfo reported. Zemmour said that right after the attack, the channel’s social network and website displayed threats in French, Arabic and English.

TV5Monde’s Facebook page briefly showed the logo of ‘Cyber Caliphate’ in the profile picture slot.

“Cybercaliphate Je suis ISIS” (page Facebook de chaine francophone TV5 a été piratée par pro ISIS) pic.twitter.com/UszyDPGDA1

— Gilles Klein (@GillesKLEIN) April 8, 2015

Loyalists of the ISIS have become more and more active online under that name.

Back in January the Cyber Caliphate group even hacked into the official Twitter account of the United States Central Command – CENTCOM. The hackers sent out a series of tweets from the @CENTCOM account warning “AMERICAN SOLDIERS, WE ARE COMING, WATCH YOUR BACK. ISIS.”

Similar cyber-attacks were reported at local Maryland television station and a New Mexico newspaper in the US. The incidents even prompted an FBI investigation into the Cyber Caliphate group.

Newsweek’s Twitter feed was also taken over by hackers, claiming to be part of the Cyber Caliphate.

Other incidents claimed by the group included gaining access to Twitter feed of military spouses, including the account of support group called Military Spouses of Strength.