Social media accounts of several NFL teams were hacked on Monday, ahead of this weekend’s Super Bowl LIV.
About 15 teams—including championship contenders the Chiefs and 49ers—were targeted on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Pro football reporter Dov Kleiman broke the news on Monday, tweeting that the official NFL, Green Bay Packers, and Chicago Bears accounts were compromised.
In swift succession, Kleiman announced the fall of the Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, and the Indianapolis Colts.
“On Monday, the NFL Cybersecurity department became aware of a breach of a league-related social media account,” the American football alliance said in a statement. “Targeted breaches and additional failed attempts were discovered across the league and team accounts.”
Hijacked pages had their profile and cover photos removed; some also included a message from Saudi Arabian hacker group OurMine, which has claimed responsibility for the pre-game strike.
“We are here to show people that everything is hackable,” the post said, urging users to “contact us” via an email address and (now suspended) Twitter handle to “improve your accounts security.”
NFL accounts were accessed through a third-party platform; Twitter has since locked all compromised accounts and is “working closely with our partners at the NFL to restore them,” a spokesperson told Geek in an emailed statement.
“We continue to work diligently with the teams, which have resumed normal operations,” the league added.
As of press time, about half of the teams appear to have regained control of their pages and begun tweeting again.
Most of the damage was confined to Twitter. But the Bills, Cowboys, and Minnesota Vikings were also attacked via Facebook and Instagram.
The Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in Sunday’s Super Bowl 54, scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and streaming service fuboTV.
Singer/songwriter Demi Lovato is on tap to sing the national anthem ahead of kickoff, while Shakira and Jennifer Lopez are sure to set the halftime stage ablaze.
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