US Intelligence Agency Joins Twitter, Hours Before Military Account Hacked

Washington: There was surely no irony intended, but a new US counterintelligence agency joined Twitter on Monday, just hours before news of the hacking of US military Twitter and YouTube accounts.

"The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) joins Twitter...we've said too much already!" tweeted the agency in its inaugural posting earlier on Monday.

The agency was formed late last year by US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper "to effectively integrate and align counterintelligence and security mission areas, and carry out counterintelligence and security responsibilities under a single organizational construct."

In the hours after the agency's inaugural tweet, Pentagon officials said social media feeds for US Central Command had been hacked by people claiming sympathy with the Islamic State militant group being targeted in American bombing raids.

Central Command oversees US military operations in the Middle East. US officials said its Twitter feed and YouTube accounts were suspended after being compromised.

But the world of social media keeps spinning. As of late Monday afternoon, the new NCSC Twitter account had amassed more than 1,200 followers.