SEC Twitter Account Latest Victim of Hacking Spree
A spree of Twitter accounts being hacked continues, with college football’s most popular account falling victim
Three hundred and twenty-five thousand people follow the SEC’s Twitter account, more than double any other collegiate conference on the social media platform. Saturday morning, the conference received a rude awakening less than three months away from the start of the 2016 College Football Season.
SEC officials quickly removed two tweets containing inappropriate images and messages posted on the verified Twitter account. One of the messages containing racy images was online for nearly an hour, allowing enough time for screenshots to saved and retweeted.
Today an unknown/unauthorized individual accessed @SEC twitter. We apologize for any concern or confusion this caused.
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) June 25, 2016
“We became aware of it when we saw some retweets,” SEC spokesman Herb Vincent said in a statement. “The images were removed immediately, our password changed and we notified Twitter. We will, of course, continue to monitor the account closely today.”
The SEC Twitter account has been hacked. Our staff is working to correct the problem. Apologies for any concern or confusion this caused.
— Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) June 25, 2016
This is the third time this month a widely-followed football account was hacked on Twitter. Just yesterday the Baltimore Ravens fan site Ravens Nation apologized following a hacking posting that quarterback Joe Flacco had passed away.
Most famously, the NFL Twitter account falsely announced the death of Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Hacker takes over NFL Twitter account, falsely says Commissioner Roger Goodell is dead https://t.co/ttxnc5gddu pic.twitter.com/1K4bBXQqYi
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) June 8, 2016
As one would expect, Twitter erupted with suggestions to who was behind the SEC Twitter account hack.
Here's a sketch of the man the #SEC believes hacked their Twitter account: pic.twitter.com/xv87rWToVt
— Kendall (@_kendallrjones_) June 25, 2016
Most pointed fingers at Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who was seen sporting a Kobe shirsey tucked-in to his classic Wal-Mart khakis.
Jim Harbaugh is repping Kobe Bryant at the LA camp this morning. pic.twitter.com/GoOEneOQ5E
— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) June 25, 2016