The websites
of CNN, Time, and the Washington Post were attacked on Thursday by the Syrian
Electronics Army. Some users on washingtonpost.com were directed to the Syrian
Electronic Army’s website which was displayed in Arabic.
CNN
international edition website also displayed ‘hacked by SEA’ briefly before it
was restored. The Syrian Electronics Army was able to attack the three websites
simultaneously by attacking a network that serves contents on the three
websites, Outbrain. The SEA took responsibility of the attack on Twitter.
“We’ve taken
defensive measures, and at this time there are no other issues affecting the
site,” The Post’s managing editor for digital, Emilio Garcia-Ruiz said after
the attack.
The breach
reportedly started with a phishing attack that was aimed at some reporters of
The Post. The phishing was reportedly done to gain access to the passwords of
reporters which gave them access to the website.
The email was
sent to them disguised as an email from a colleague which asked them to click a
link in which they had to supply their login details.
Outbrain also
acknowledged a breach on its website by Syrian activists who are reported
supporters of the Syrian president Bashir Al-Assad. “We are aware that Outbrain
was hacked earlier today. In our effort to protect our publishers and readers,
we took down service as soon as it was apparent.
“The breach
now seems to be secured and the hackers blocked out, but we are keeping the service
down for a little longer until we can be sure it’s safe to turn it back on
securely. We are working hard to prevent future attacks of this nature.”
Outbrain said in a statement.
Since 2011,
the SEA has been responsible for various attacks on big news media outlets. Organizations
to have fallen victim includes the Associated Press, NPR, Al Jazeera and Human
Rights Watch.
One of the
most popular of its pranks was using AP’s breached twitter account in April to
broadcast that a bomb had gone off in the White House. The SEA has claimed that
media sites give false reports of happenings in the troubled Syria.
Posts
CNN, Washington Post website breached by the SEA