The Twitter and YouTube accounts belonging to U.S. Central Command were apparently taken over by hackers who said they are loyal to the Islamic State group.

The Twitter account on Monday posted threats to U.S. soldiers, warning “We are coming watch your back. ISIS.”

Follow-up tweets included pictures of documents that appeared to contain the telephone numbers, email addresses and home addresses of dozens of U.S. military officials.

The account also leaked what appeared to be several military maps of China and North Korea. The authenticity or significance of the documents could not be confirmed, but some of the leaked material had already been available on the Internet and did not appear to be sensitive.

CENTCOM, based at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, oversees the U.S.-led air war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

Pentagon taking ‘measures’

CENTCOM officials did not immediately respond to VOA questions about the apparent hacking. But the Pentagon has confirmed the attack and said it is taking “appropriate measures to address the matter.”

Within 30 minutes, the CENTCOM Twitter account was suspended, though the official CENTCOM YouTube page was still controlled by the hackers and publishing two crudely produced Islamist propaganda videos.

Hackers claiming allegiance to the Islamic State group had previously taken over the Twitter accounts of several news organizations in the states of Maryland and New Mexico.

Some of the threats and hashtags in those cases appeared similar to the Tweets that appeared on the CENTCOM Twitter on Monday.

Within 30 minutes, control of the CENTCOM Twitter account appeared to be taken back by U.S. officials, though the official CENTCOM YouTube page was still controlled by the hackers.

Obama on cyber security

The attacks took place at the same time President Barack Obama was delivering a speech on expanding cyber security.

In a speech Monday, at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., Obama said data hacking presents a direct threat to American consumers.

In outlining newly proposed legislation, Obama said companies will have to alert customers within 30 days if their personal data has been compromised. The move follows several major security hacks at some of the country’s largest retailers, including Target and Home Depot.

Other proposals include providing adults with free access to their credit scores and preventing student data from being sold to a third party. 

The proposals are expected to make up part of the president’s State of the Union address on January 20. It is unclear whether the Republican led Congress will take up either of the proposals.
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