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Facebook's accounts on Twitter and Instagram were hacked

Hackers used a third-party platform, Twitter said.

Queenie Wong Former Senior Writer
Queenie Wong was a senior writer for CNET News, focusing on social media companies including Facebook's parent company Meta, Twitter and TikTok. Before joining CNET, she worked for The Mercury News in San Jose and the Statesman Journal in Salem, Oregon. A native of Southern California, she took her first journalism class in middle school.
Expertise I've been writing about social media since 2015 but have previously covered politics, crime and education. I also have a degree in studio art. Credentials
  • 2022 Eddie award for consumer analysis
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Queenie Wong
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Facebook's accounts on Twitter and Instagram were compromised on Friday. 

 Graphic by Pixabay; illustration by CNET

Hackers temporarily took over Facebook's accounts on Twitter and Instagram on Friday through a third-party platform, raising concerns about the security of the social networks. Both accounts are back to normal. 

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Hacker group OurMine temporarily took over Facebook's Twitter account on Friday. 

 Screenshot by Justin Cauchon/CNET

At around 3:50 p.m., hacker group OurMine tweeted from Facebook's Twitter account. The same group also hijacked the Twitter accounts of more than a dozen NFL teams in January before the SuperBowl and has also hacked the accounts of tech moguls such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. 

"Well, even Facebook is hackable but at least their security better than Twitter," the group said in a tweet that has now been deleted. Hackers also compromised the Twitter account for Facebook's messaging service. 

Around the same time, the group took over Facebook's Instagram account and posted photos of the group's logo.

A Twitter spokeswoman confirmed that Facebook's account was hacked through a third-party platform. "As soon as we were made aware of the issue, we locked the compromised accounts and are working closely with our partners at Facebook to restore them," she said in a statement. Twitter declined to name the third-party platform, but a screenshot of the tweets show that the posts came from social media management tool Khoros. Instagram and Khoros didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Originally published Feb. 7, 4:33 p.m. PT.
Update, 4:58 p.m.: Includes information about the third-party platform and Facebook Messenger's Twitter account.