IDF spokesperson’s Twitter account hacked
Fake tweet warns of nuclear leak in Dimona facility after rocket fire; attack claimed by Syrian Electronic Army
The IDF Spokesperson’s Twitter account in English was hacked on Thursday night, with the hackers sending out a fake tweet warning of a nuclear leak at the Dimona nuclear plant after a rocket attack.
The Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility for the hack.
The IDF Spokesperson deleted the tweet and vowed to “combat terror on all fronts including the cyber dimension.”
The offending tweet came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an ultimatum to Hamas in Gaza to halt the rocket fire or face a massive Israeli strike.
Israel and terrorists in the Palestinian enclave have been engaged in a series of retaliatory attacks over the past several weeks amid tensions surrounding a massive IDF operation to hunt down two Hamas members in the West Bank Israel says were responsible for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers on June 12.
We apologize for the incorrect tweets Our twitter account was compromised. We will combat terror on all fronts including the cyber dimension
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 3, 2014
Over 15 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip Thursday evening, leaving one soldier lightly injured.
The IDF beefed up its ground forces around the Gaza Strip on Thursday, as tensions continued to rise along the southern border region; and in East Jerusalem, where the recent killing of a Muslim teenager, in an alleged revenge attack over the killings of the Israeli teens, triggered widespread riots on Wednesday.
Israel’s cabinet, meanwhile, has remained mum on possible anti-Hamas operations in the wake of the kidnapping and murder.
The Syrian Electronic Army has claimed a series of hacks on prominent news websites and Twitter accounts over the past year, including CNN, AP, the Washington Post and the New York Times. The group, which backs the Syrian government, alleged that coverage of the brutal Syrian civil war by these news outlets were “fake: and biased in favor of the Syrian opposition.
