Sky’s Twitter account compromised by Syrian Electronic Army, apps removed from Google Play

Adding to a spate of recent infiltrations of major media outlets, the Syrian Electronic Army appears to have compromised the Twitter account for the British Sky Broadcasting Group, spreading fears that the broadcaster’s apps had been compromised in a hack. Sky denies that its Android apps — including Sky Go, Sky+, Sky Wi-Fi, and Sky News — have been compromised, but the apps in question are not currently available on the Google Play market.

According a source familiar with the matter, The Verge has learned that the Sky help team’s Twitter account had been compromised, and that tweets asking customers to uninstall their apps were made by unauthorized actors. The broadcaster is said to be currently investigating the matter.

So far the Syrian Electronic Army’s campaigns have focused on spreading jokes and propaganda rather than malware. The group, considered by researchers at HP as one of the most skilled hacking teams in the world, has taken responsibility for compromising social media accounts for CBS, NPR, the BBC, the Financial Times, and several other major news and media outlets. That’s not to say the SEA’s actions are harmless; in April, the group hacked the Associated Press’ Twitter account, spreading a false claim that explosions at the White House had injured President Barack Obama.

Update: A Sky spokesperson has provided The Verge with the following statement: “Sky Android apps previously downloaded by Sky customers are unaffected and there is no need to remove them from an Android device.”

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