Skype social media accounts hacked by Syrian Electronic Army

TORONTO – The Syrian Electronic Army has taken responsibility for hacking Skype’s official social media channels, after messages were posted on the company’s Twitter and Facebook feeds Wednesday telling users Microsoft sells its data to governments.

“Don’t use Microsoft emails (Hotmail, Outlook), they are monitoring your accounts and selling the data to the governments. More details soon. #SEA,” read a tweet posted from Skype’s official Twitter account Wednesday.

Similar messages were reportedly posted on the Mircosoft-owned company’s Facebook page, as well as Skype’s blog which was also targeted by the hacker group.

The Syrian Electronic Army reportedly posted Microsoft outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer’s contact information on its Twitter account accompanied by a message that read, “You can thank Microsoft for monitoring your accounts/emails using this detail.”

https://twitter.com/Official_SEA16/status/418531553187090432/photo/1

All of the posts have since been deleted. Skype apologized for the incident via its Twitter account late Wednesday.

But the SEA has continued to tweet screen captures from its own Twitter account.

It is believed that the Syrian Electronic Army was referencing revelations that the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) monitored user communications on the Internet chat and calling service as part of its Internet surveillance program PRISM.

The hacker group has previously taken responsibility for hacking the Twitter account of The Associated Press, sending out a false tweet about an attack on the White House in April; however, the group usually initiates web attacks on media targets that it sees as sympathetic to Syria’s rebels.

READ MORE: What is the Syrian Electronic Army?

The Army first appeared on Facebook in April 2011 after anti-regime protests erupted in Syria, according to Information Warfare Monitor (IWM). The group uses social media platforms to coordinate spam attacks, often taking to Facebook to post pro-government messages.

They have previously targeted the New York Times, the Washington Post, Agence France-Presse, 60 Minutes, CBS News, National Public Radio, Al-Jazeera English and the BBC.

READ MORE: Hackers attack New York Times; ‘Syrian Electronic Army’ takes credit