ISIS hackers hijacking old Twitter accounts to spread terrorist propaganda

ISIS is breaking into old Twitter accounts to spread its evil terrorist propaganda.

Hacked profiles, some of which have tens of thousands of followers, suddenly begin praising Allah or sharing pictures and videos calling for violence.

Many of the accounts were hacked in recent days or weeks after years of inactivity, according to vigilante hacker WauchulaGhost, who discovered the new ISIS tactic. He told TechCrunch that the group's hackers use a decade-old flaw in Twitter's account security to access dormant profiles.

"This issue has been around for a while but no one really knew and took advantage of it," said WauchulaGhost, whose real name is not known. "Now, we have Islamic State supporters that have figured it out."

Twitter initially did not ask new sign-ups to verify their emails, meaning they could create an account using a fake or expired email address. This loophole allows hackers to simply create the email address, and so gain access to the linked account.

Email accounts linked to Twitter handles are often their Twitter handle at “@hotmail.com” or “@yahoo.com”, making them easy to guess, WauchulaGhost said. Hacked accounts post pictures or videos featuring Arabic text over so-called Islamic State fighters wielding weapons.

Others simply post Arabic text praising recent attacks or other violence. One hijacked called on Muslims to “kill these Christians wherever you find them.” Another tweeted about turning the Christmas holidays “into grief and horror.”

Twitter said it was aware of the problem, and had suspended more than 200,000 accounts promoting terrorism since January 2018.

A spokesperson told The Sun: “Reusing email addresses in this manner is not a new issue for Twitter or other online services. "For our part, our teams are aware and are working to identify solutions that can help keep Twitter accounts safe and secure." Are you concerned your Twitter account could be hacked by ISIS? Let us know in the comments!