NBC News Twitter feed hacked, false report of Ground Zero attack

By Trevor Mogg September 9, 2011

The Twitter news feed of NBC, which has about 130,000 followers, was hacked on Friday afternoon by a group calling itself The Script Kiddies. Several fake tweets were posted reporting that a plane had crashed into Ground Zero in New York City. The hack comes just a couple of days before the US marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the country.

The first fake tweet said: “Breaking News! Ground Zero has just been attacked. Flight 5736 has crashed into the site, suspected hijacking. More as the story develops.”

This was followed a few minutes later by another: “Flight 4782 is not responding, suspected hijacking. One plane just hit Ground Zero site at 5:47.”

Soon after, this one appeared: “This is not a joke, Ground Zero has been attacked. We’re attempting to get reporters on the scene.”

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Finally, a tweet appeared from the hacking group itself, claiming responsibility for the fake tweets. The description on The Script Kiddies’ now suspended Twitter account described itself as “Anonymous Supporters :: Hackers :: Exploiting simplistic methods with hilarious results :: Occasionally doing it for the lulz :: We are The Script Kiddies.”

The hack comes at a time when parts of the country are already on high alert following credible but unconfirmed reports of a terrorist plot targeting Washington DC and New York City on the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

A statement from NBC said: “The NBC News twitter account was hacked late this afternoon and as a result, false reports of a plane attack on ground zero were sent to @NBCNews followers. We are working with Twitter to correct the situation and sincerely apologize for the scare that could have been caused by such a reckless and irresponsible act.”

[Source: Reuters / Cnet]

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