Hackers Fake 9/11 Attack on NBC News’ Twitter Feed
The Script Kiddies -- a new group of cyber pranksters -- hacked NBC News' Twitter account Friday afternoon and posted bogus news alerts that a commercial airliner had crashed into Ground Zero.
The Script Kiddies — a new group of cyber pranksters — hacked NBC News’ Twitter account Friday afternoon and posted bogus news alerts that a commercial airliner had crashed into Ground Zero.
Twitter promptly suspended the hackers’ profile, @s_kiddies, and officials report that the FBI is now investigating the incident.
The Script Kiddies are an anonymous group of computer hackers who recently split off from the more well-known hacking groups Anonymous and LulzSec. Their goal appears to be to embarrass and discredit mainstream news organizations. Two months ago, the group took credit for a similar hack of Fox News’ Twitter account, where bogus news alerts reported that President Obama had been assassinated. –BF
Your support is crucial...MSNBC:
The U.S. government official who specializes in cyber security said that a typical scenario for such an attack would be enticing a Twitter user — through a phony email — to download an attachment that contains a “keylogger Trojan” — a form of computer “malware” or virus that penetrates a computer and picks up the repetitive keystrokes of the user, allowing the hackers to figure out the passwords to the Twitter account.
[Ryan] Osborn, the NBC News social media director, said he recently received one such suspicious email as Hurricane Irene was approaching New York. The email came from an unknown sender with the subject “Hurricane Alert” and the message: “Ryan, You need to get off TWITTER immediately and protect your family from the hurricane. That is an order.”
Osborn wrote back “I’m sorry. Who is this?” The sender then replied, “I’m the girl next door” with an attachment. Osborn said he mistakenly clicked on the attachment and it contained a Christmas tree.
As we navigate an uncertain 2025, with a new administration questioning press freedoms, the risks are clear: our ability to report freely is under threat.
Your tax-deductible donation enables us to dig deeper, delivering fearless investigative reporting and analysis that exposes the reality beneath the headlines — without compromise.
Now is the time to take action. Stand with our courageous journalists. Donate today to protect a free press, uphold democracy and uncover the stories that need to be told.
The company hasn’t just lost its business compass—gone is its moral one as well.
The deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash offers an important lesson about capitalism’s human toll.
Passengers on transatlantic flights face scary moments as climate change driven by carbon dioxide emissions increases turbulence.
Researchers warn that the cost of airline tickets will need to rise steadily to decrease demand and counteract the effects of aviation’s growing carbon emissions.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.