Toronto Star

Netflix and Marvel targeted in Twitter account hacking

- KAREN TURNER

These days, no one is safe from hacking — not even Marvel superheroe­s.

Agroup of Marvel and Netflix Twitter accounts were hacked Wednesday by OurMine, a group that targets high-profile social media accounts to advertise its security services.

OurMine hacked into the accounts of both studios — including Marvel’s superhero franchise accounts such as The Avengers, Captain America and Ant-man — and used them to tweet promotiona­l messages.

All the tweets had the same message: “Hey, it’s OurMine, Don’t worry we are just testing your security,” and contact informatio­n for the group. OurMine, which calls itself an “elite hacker group,” appears to offer protective web services.

The website states that services include social media account protection for $30, while website or corporate network protection comes with a $1,000 to $5,000 price tag.

TechCrunch reported earlier this year that the group is made up of three unidentifi­ed teenagers. OurMine’s victim list includes the social media accounts for Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and actor Channing Tatum.

“We don’t need money, but we are selling security services because there is a lot (of ) people (who) want to check their security,” an anonymous OurMine member told Wired, according to a story the tech news site published earlier this year. “We are not black-hat hackers, we are just a security group . . . we are just trying to tell people that nobody is safe.”

The hacked tweets were deleted later Wednesday. “We’re investigat­ing and taking immediate action to remedy the situation,” a Marvel spokespers­on said in a statement. Netflix has not yet responded to request for comment.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada