The same hackers have also gotten their mitts on social media accounts of other high-profile sporting targets
OurMine, the infamous hacker collective, hijacked the official Twitter accounts of FC Barcelona, the Olympics and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Saturday. The La Liga soccer giant, for one, also ran afoul of the group in 2017, when it had both its Facebook and Twitter accounts defaced.
2 days ago FC Barcelona News: 24 April 2021 A round-up of the latest Barcelona news and rumors Lionel Messi has “donated” 28 penalties to teammates Antoine Griezmann was the. The latest tweets from @barcelona.
OurMine have hacked the official Barcelona and Olympic Twitter accounts and posted these tweets 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/1WEzLemTvl
Barcelona's last 8-2 loss was to Real Madrid in February 1935. Manager Franz Platko survived (and even got the job again 20 years later). But, crucially, Twitter didn't exist back then #BARBAY. 1 day ago Barcelona have confirmed that Ousmane Dembele and Neto have both been passed fit for Sunday’s trip to Villarreal in La Liga. Dembele was left out of the squad for Thursday’s win over Getafe.
— 🇾🇪 MUHQ 🇾🇪 (@ManUtd_HQ) February 15, 2020
A Twitter spokesperson confirmed for Business Insider that, much like in the previous incidents, the hack occurred via a third-party platform. Twitter took action and locked the accounts as soon as it became aware of the issue.
In a separate statement, an IOC spokesperson confirmed that they are investigating the breach into their social media accounts.
Fc Barcelona Twitter
FC Barcelona took to Twitter to acknowledge the attack and announce that it will be conducting a cybersecurity audit and reviewing its protocols.
Barcelona Vs
FC Barcelona will conduct a cybersecurity audit and will review all protocols and links with third party tools, in order to avoid such incidents and to guarantee the best service to our members and fans. We apologise for any inconvenience this situation may have caused.
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 15, 2020
Meanwhile, the hacking group hinted at Neymar’s possible return to the Blaugranas squad, claiming it read through some of the team’s private correspondence. In a now-deleted series of tweets, OurMine also mocked the Spanish soccer team for falling victim to the same type of attack twice.
The hacker collective also made headlines earlier this year, when it hijacked the official Twitter accounts of 15 NFL teams and the league itself. Just days ago, OurMine also broke into the Twitter and Instagram accounts for Facebook and Messenger.
Keep your eye on the ball
Account takeover attacks typically leverage credential stuffing, an automated method that deploys bots for login attempts. Using leaked or stolen access credentials from data breaches, the bots will then hammer the sites with multiple login attempts until one of the combinations pans out.
To lower the chances of having your account hacked or taken over, we suggest using two-factor authentication (2FA), if the option is supported. Many services offer 2FA as an extra layer of security to protect you from account takeover attacks.
Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all offer several 2FA methods, but if you’re not sure if your service of choice offers such an option you can check here. The second authentication factor offers a valuable additional layer of protection in exchange for very little effort – our recent article can teach you the ropes of 2FA.
Should your account still fall victim to an account-takeover attack, you may want to read our article about what to do if your Twitter account has been hacked.
Discussion
Gerard Pique has thrown a spanner in Victor Font's campaign to become the next Barcelona president by demanding he remove a tweet featuring a short video from an interview the defender did this week.
Font linked a quote from Pique which said Barca must 'look to the future because the past only serves to learn from our mistakes' with his own campaign for the presidency, which carries the slogan 'Si al Futur' (Yes to the future).
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'Victor, with all respect, these words have nothing to do with what you are trying to transmit with this tweet,' Pique wrote on Twitter on Friday. 'I ask you to delete it and not to use my image for your benefit.'
Font quickly replied with an apology and removed the tweet from his personal account and from the 'Si al Futur' account.
'Gerard, we used this reflection because it is in line with our thoughts,' he said. 'In no case did we want to create any problem for you. We have deleted it.'
Font is one of three candidates to replace Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned as president in October, when club members vote on March 7, with Joan Laporta and Toni Freixa the other two.
Laporta, who was previously Barca president between 2003 and 2010, is leading the polls, ahead of Font, and Pique's social media intervention could serve as a further boost to his campaign given the centre-back's popularity among the club's supporters.
On the pitch, Barca will look to continue their good start to 2021 on Sunday when they travel to Real Betis in search of their sixth straight win in La Liga.
Four of those five wins have come away from Camp Nou and, after next Wednesday's Copa del Rey semifinal at Sevilla, Barca will have played 11 of their 12 games in the calendar year away from home or at a neutral venue.
Most of those games have involved late kick-offs and early morning returns to Barca, with Koeman's side yet to have a free midweek since the turn of the year.
'At some point, UEFA or the Spanish league will have to do something because they are killing the players with this schedule,' Koeman said in a news conference on Saturday.
Barca will be without the injured quartet of Pique, Sergi Roberto, Philippe Coutinho and Ansu Fati when against Betis. A win will move them within seven points of leaders Atletico Madrid, although they will have played two more games.