Wow. Looks like some ISIS affiliated group called Cyber Caliphate has defaced the website and twitter page of WBOC in order to push ISIS propaganda. WBOC claims it wasn’t a ‘hack’ because their servers weren’t breached. They say it was simply a ‘cyber attack’:
WBOC – It was a chaotic Tuesday afternoon in the WBOC NewsPlex. And it all started when a group calling itself Cyber Caliphate found it’s way into WBOC’s twitter account and website.
Ethan Holland, WBOC’s Director of Digital Media says it happened quickly. “Around 11 o’clock we saw that our twitter password had been changed and we were locked out. Then around 11:30 we saw that our website had been modified,” says Holland.
Modified with pictures appearing to support the Islamic militant group ISIS. Web Editor Kye Parsons found himself in the center of it all. “We took as quick action as we possibly could,” Parsons says.
While the reaction was swift, the damage was done. Links were shared with the public through WBOC.com and twitter. Holland says WBOC was used as a mouthpiece with information that wasn’t theirs. General Manager Craig Jahelka says it was important to be proactive. “We needed to let everyone know this was not our doing,” he said, “and we are doing everything we can to correct the situation.”
The Salisbury Police Department was contacted. They passed the information along to the FBI, which has been speaking with WBOC about the incident. The FBI says similar attacks have been quietly happening to media companies across the United States.