New | Syrian hackers break into Skype accounts to accuse Microsoft of spying
Pro-Assad Syrian Electronic Army also posts Microsoft CEO's contact details in two-hour attack on Skype's social media accounts
The Syrian Electronic Army hacker group set its sights on Skype’s social media accounts on Wednesday to accuse Microsoft of spying on user data.
Microsoft-owned Skype’s Twitter account displayed the message: “Don’t use Microsoft e-mails (Hotmail, Outlook), they are monitoring your accounts and selling the data to the governments. More details soon SEA.”
It was posted around 10.30am (GMT) but was removed less than two hours later.
Microsoft, which acquired Skype in 2011, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The SEA account belongs to the Syrian Electronic Army, which backs the Damascus government.
In a posting on its own Twitter account, the SEA said, “You can thank Microsoft for monitoring your accounts/e-mails using this details,” and listed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s contact information.
The group has previously hacked accounts of The New York Times, Agence France-Presse and other media organisations.