A pro-Palestinian group calling itself the Z Company Hacking Crew (ZHC) has claimed responsibility for a widespread hack of a number of social accounts held by Israel’s Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom. The group has managed to gain access to Shalom’s Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, YouTube, Picasa, LinkedIn and Gmail accounts — and it’s threatening to release information it’s found, including his contacts and personal phone number.
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It seems that Shalom either used the same password for multiple accounts, or that he registered for all the services using his Gmail address, which allowed ZTE to reset the passwords once they had control of his email. The group has plastered Shalom’s various profiles with its logo and “Free Palestine” messages, and posted blog posts and tweets from his accounts announcing the hack. His Facebook page has already been taken down, but his Twitter account is still up — and the group has taken the opportunity to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “psychopath” and squeeze in as many topical hashtags like #FreePalestine and #Gaza as it can.
Contrary to previous reports, ZHC says it is not part of the larger Anonymous operation which is targeting Israeli government websites in opposition to the violence in Gaza. The group claims that it is a “completely separate team” although they do “work with Anon on some projects”.
Shalom’s YouTube account has been posting anti-war videos and now displays ‘Free Palestine’ banners, while his blog is now hosting a message condemning the attacks on Palestinian civilians:
The hack is one of millions that have been carried out in solidarity with Palestine in the wake of escalating violence in Gaza between Hamas and Israeli forces.
ZHC said that it will release an ezine containing Shalom’s documents, contacts and other “interesting stuff” later today.
So who wants #Israel‘s Vice Prime Minister Mister Sinister #SilvanShalom‘s personal phone number? @gazaunderattack #Gaza #FreePalestine
— ZCompanyHackingCrew (@Z_H_C_) November 21, 2012
