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LONDON (AP) — Hackers have compromised the main Twitter account of The Associated Press, sending out an erroneous tweet about an attack at the White House.
The tweet, which said that there had been two explosions at the White House and President Barack Obama was injured, came after hackers made repeated attempts to steal the passwords of AP journalists.
The AP said Tuesday that its Twitter account had been suspended following a hack and said it was working to correct the issue.
Later, AP announced that it was suspending all its accounts, through yet another handle @AP_Politics.
"All, AP's Twitter accounts will be suspended until we can be assured of their security. Do not respond to any news posted by these accounts," the tweet read.
All, AP's Twitter accounts will be suspended until we can be assured of their security. Do not respond to any news posted by these accounts.
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) April 23, 2013
"The @AP Twitter account has been suspended after it was hacked. The tweet about an attack on the White House was false," the media company said through another Twitter handle it owns, @APStylebook.
The cyberattack is the latest in a string targeting international media organizations.
The tweet put out by hackers briefly sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average sharply lower, causing it to lose roughly 100 points in just a few minutes. The market recovered just as quickly.
Twitter users quickly questioned the tweet's veracity.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney responded to the event by saying that "the president is fine," according to a tweet from CBS News.
Several other news agencies have been hacked recently, including those of CBS programs 60 Minutes and 48 Hours. One such tweet read, "General Dempsey calls for #Obama's arrest under new anti-terror laws #48hours."
The BBC reports that the hacks were likely the doing of the Syrian Electronic Army, a pro-Assad group of hackers who oppose the rebels fighting against the Syrian government.
