Newsweek got the reins back, but for a hot second there, the magazine's Twitter was dramatically splashed with communication from the "CyberCaliphate," the purported social media arm of ISIS, which—as covered excellently by Newsweek itself—previously hacked the Twitter and YouTube accounts of US Central Command.
According to Newsweek, the Centcom social media breach was not the hugest of deals on the inside:
In a subsequent press briefing, Pentagon spokesman Army Colonel Steve Warren said that the Defense Department "views this as little more than a prank, or as vandalism. It's inconvenient, it's an annoyance but in no way is any sensitive or classified information compromised,"
White House spokesman Josh Earnest added that the hacking was "something that we take seriously" but "there's a pretty significant difference between what is a large data breach and the hacking of a Twitter account."
This time, the "Islamic State CyberCaliphate" was in the account for long enough to post an organizational chart and a contact list for the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center. This first tweet contained about 70 names, phone numbers, locations, work and cell numbers (all info redacted with this ugly red square):
Another tweet contained an organizational chart, also unappealingly redacted here:
The group also sent a "Bloody Valentine's Day" message to Michelle Obama, saying, "We're watching you, your girls, and your husband!"
Brian Ries, editor at Mashable and former Newsweek social media editor, gives some context:
And closer up, here's the message that was formerly pinned to the top of Newsweek's feed.
Images via screenshot.