Florida: 9/11 Commemoration Facebook Page Hacked – Was it the Islamic State?

sarasota-ministerial-associationA malicious attack occurred against the Sarasota Ministerial Association’s Facebook page announcing their “Standing With the Fallen” 9/11 commemoration at the Sarasota National Cemetery. The hacker obtained administrative privileges and posted that the event was cancelled.

Additionally, the hacker sent out notifications to those who had “friended” the association’s Facebook page saying the commemoration was cancelled.

Why is this attack significant?

Because it was in Sarasota that Mohammed Atta, the leader of the attack on 9/11/2001, and two of the other pilots lived, planned the attack and trained to fly their deadly missiles into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Is picking this Sarasota commemoration to hack happenstance or something more nefarious?

The following graphic replaced the one the hacker posted announcing the event was cancelled:

9-11-event-not-cancelled

In an email to supporters and attendees, Chaplain Tom Pfaff, the event organizer, wrote:

Greetings,

Today [September 10,2016] the Sarasota Ministerial Association Facebook was hacked.

A false posting said that the 9/11 Commemoration was cancelled and sent e-mails out also saying the event was cancelled.

Let’s fight back, by everyone e-mailing saying the 9 / 11 Fifteen Year Commemoration at the Sarasota National Cemetery, 6 PM HAS NOT BEEN CANCELLED but hacked.

And please share the newly, redone event posting with your Friends publicly.

Evil shall not triumph, but will be then used for the good…

This kind of cyber attack using Facebook is unusual in that it targets a specific event commemorating the fifteenth anniversary of 9/11 that has historic significance. President George W. Bush was in Sarasota at Booker Elementary School when he was notified that a plane has struck the World Trade Center. Shortly after the second plane hit and the U.S. Great War on Terrorism began.

 from Heavy in an article titled “Is There an ISIS Terrorist Attack Threat for September 11, 2016?” reports:

15 years after 9/11 was committed by al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, the United States is now at war with the Islamic State. Is there a credible terrorist threat for the 15th anniversary of September 11?

According to the White House’s top counterterrorism official, Counterterrorism Center chief Nick Rasmussen, the answer is “yes.” The Washington Post reports that on Wednesday, Rasmussen said that the “terrorist threat facing the U.S. and its European allies is ‘bigger, wider and deeper’ than at any point since the Sept. 11 attacks 15 years ago.”

However, no specifics were given.

Last year, Twitter accounts affiliated with the Islamic State threatened a September 11, 2015 hacking attack against the United States. No cyber attacks took place.

But without a doubt, ISIS is planning to capitalize on American fears of a repeated attack on September 11. [Emphasis added]

Did the Islamic State hack the Sarasota Ministerial Association’s Facebook page in remembrance of Mohammed Atta? Is there something more the hacker(s) might do?

The incident according to sources has been reported to Facebook and local law enforcement. Let’s hope this and the thousands of other commemorations go off without a hitch.

EDITORS NOTE: The 9/11 event will take place as scheduled. We will have staff at the event. Stay tuned for updates.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *