Financial Times Hacked By 'Syria Group'

The website and Twitter account of the Financial Times have been hacked, apparently by activists who support the Syrian government.

The Syrian Electronic Army claimed responsibility for the attack, in which the hackers published messages in support of President Bashar al Assad and posted a link to a YouTube video.

"Syrian Electronic Army Was Here," the group boasted on one of the Financial Times' Twitter feeds.

A statement from the FT press office said: "Various FT blogs and social media accounts have been compromised by hackers and we are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible."

Uploaded on May 15, the video claims to show members of the Nusra Front rebel group purportedly executing blindfolded members of the Syrian army. It has not been independently verified.

The hacking attack comes after an internal memo reportedly asked FT staff not to click on suspicious emails and warned of a phishing attack.

Phishing describes the practice of sending harmless-looking emails to trick users into revealing passwords or other sensitive information.

Last month, the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) said it was behind a hacking attack on the Associated Press which saw a bogus tweet say there had been explosions at the White House.

The tweet caused US financial markets to temporarily lose $136bn (£88bn).

The BBC, CBS and al Jazeera - among other news outlets - have also had their Twitter accounts hacked, leading to calls for the site to beef up its security.

Technology experts believe a two-stage security process, instead of just a password system, would make such attacks more difficult.

Ironically the US-based general counsel and head of trust and safety for Twitter, Alex Macgillivray, visited the FT's London newsroom just hours before the external attack commenced.

Mr Macgillivray posted a message thanking the FT for the visit - at about the same time the newspaper's tech blogs were attacked by the SEA hackers.

On Thursday Mr Macgillivray visited the London staff of Twitter UK, days after he addressed European headquarters staff in Dublin.

Mr Macgillivray's visit to the British Isles comes just days after Sky News revealed one of the two UK companies he was a director of, TweetDeck Ltd, was forcibly dissolved by Companies House after repeated failures to file accounts for 2011.