'Syrian Electronic Army' hacks Skype's Twitter and blog accounts

Hacking group briefly takes over messaging service's social media accounts to allege sale of data to governments and publ

The 'Syrian Electronic Army' hacked Skype's Twitter account and its blog and Facebook on 1 January 2014 Photograph: /public domain

The self-styled "Syrian Electronic Army" (SEA) hacking group has embarrassed Microsoft's Skype messaging service after taking over its Twitter account, Facebook site and blog, and using them to post claims that they sell data to governments.

It also posted what appeared to be the contact details for outgoing Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer on its Twitter account,saying "You can thank Microsoft for monitoring your accounts/email using this details".

No actual Skype accounts or passwords seem to have been affected by the hack, though.

Skype managed to regain control of the account, and in a statement, later acknowledged the hack: "You may have noticed our social media properties were targeted today. No user info was compromised. We're sorry for the inconvenience."

Security consultant Graham Cluley suggested that the Skype team had used the same passwords for its Twitter account and blog system, enabling the SEA to take over both. Of the SEA's takeover of the Facebook page, he said it "adds more fuel to the fire that Skype screwed up by committing the cardinal sin of using the same password for different sites," he said.ish Steve Ballmer contact details - but Skype accounts unaffected