CYBERATTACK

BBC Hacked by Assad Sympathizers

Twitter accounts toyed with by supporters of the Syrian president.

Pro–Bashar al-Assad hackers got their hands on several BBC Twitter accounts Thursday and broadcast tweets that ranged from political and anti-Semitic to comical. While the Twitter accounts are now back under BBC control, and the inappropriate tweets deleted, the British broadcaster also discovered phishing emails—messages that include a fake link used to steal information—being sent around the company’s internal network. “If you receive these emails it is very important that you do not click on the link,” the BBC warned its staff in an email. The emails—which may not be related to the Twitter hacks—had links to fake websites of The Guardian and Human Rights Watch that send users to an imitation Web-mail log-in. “It is very important that you do not enter your details into this page,” the staffwide email urged.