France's TV5Monde suffers transmission outage and social media takeover in Isis-linked ‘Je suIS IS’ cyber attack
A leading French TV network was compromised in a digital attack perpetrated by a hacker – or hackers – purporting to represent the terror group Isis, according to the channel’s head.
TV5 Monde’s transmission of 11 channels was cut for over three hours on Wednesday evening. The broadcaster's websites and social media channels were also rebranded with Isis insignia.
Channel director Yves Bigot told RTL that the company was under attack well into Thursday morning.
Bigot said: “We are no longer able to broadcast any of our channels. Our websites and social media sites are no longer under our control and are all displaying claims of responsibility by Islamic State.”
Hackers posted the message ‘Je suIS IS” on the TV5Monde website and its social channels, subverting Charlie Hebdo solidarity catchphrase ‘Je suis Charlie’.
The group, called the CyberCaliphate, posted a message which read: "Soldiers of France, stay away from the Islamic State! You have the chance to save your families, take advantage of it.”
Another stated: “The CyberCaliphate continues its cyberjihad against the enemies of Islamic State.”
Furthermore, hackers shared documents on TV5Monde’s Facebook page claiming to contain information regarding French soldiers’ relatives.
The TV5Monde network is broadcast to 200 countries internationally.