by REERA YOO | @reeraboo
editor@charactermedia.com
The Facebook page of North Korea’s state-run airline, Air Koryo, was hacked on Wednesday, seemingly by the same Islamic State (ISIS) group supporters that hacked the U.S. Central Command’s social media accounts earlier this week, according to Yonhap.
All of Air Koryo’s previous posts were deleted, and its Facebook timeline became flooded with images that showed support for the jihadists and mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. One photo featuring Kim crying at his father Kim Jong-il’s funeral was captioned “crying pig.”
Another post read, “North Korea, the communist thug nation, and the Chinese communist thugs will pay a price for their collaboration with the enemies of the mujahideen (Jihad).”
Air Koryo’s page banner was also changed to show the black and white ISIS flag, and its profile picture was replaced by a photo of a masked Islamist militant with the phrases “CyberCaliphate” and “I love you ISIS” in the background. Both images are same as the ones posted on the hacked Twitter and Youtube accounts of the U.S. military’s Central Command (Centcom).
The hacking group CyberCaliphate claimed on Monday that it had breached Centcom’s networks, and the group leaked private contact information of American soldiers as well as internal military documents online, forcing the military to shut down its Twitter account.
Photos courtesy of Washington Post
According to the Washington Post, military officials determined, based on its initial assessment, that no classified information was leaked from the hijack and that none of the information came from its servers. Ironically, the hack occurred during Obama’s speech on cybersecurity.
Pentagon officials acknowledged that the Centcom’s hack was embarrassing, but emphasized that there is no security threat, downplaying the impact of the cybervandalism.
“We view this as little more than a prank,” said Army Co. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, of the incident. “It’s inconvenient, it’s an annoyance but in no way is any sensitive or classified information compromised.”
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Featured photo courtesy of the Guardian.
