The phishing attempt throws some interesting security details of the Obama administration’s social media management into focus.
Matthew Keys, the former social media editor of Reuters who is said to have helped members of Anonymous hack the Los Angeles Times, is claiming that the personal email accounts of three White House officials have been compromised by pro-Assad hackers from Syria.
Erin Lindsay, Macon Phillips, and Adam Garber’s Google Mail accounts were all phished, says Keys, and it was only a fourth White House staffer who alerted them to the danger. The attempted attack, however, shows how seriously the White House guards the security of its social media accounts: Passwords for the official accounts, which include a Tumblr feed and some varied Instagram presence, seem to be changed on a daily basis.
One of the Syrian Electronic Army hackers described the experience to Keys’s blog The Desk like this: “They really were lucky. It was (a) really great experience, having a try to hack the White House. And somehow it succeeded and it failed at the same time.” Perhaps Free Syria hackers will compromise the Instagram account of the country’s President, Bashar Al-Assad.
The Syrian Electronic Army is also said to have hacked into Reuters’s Twitter feed in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The news agency’s Twitter feed was, of course, part of Keys’ fiefdom when he worked there.
As published on http://www.fastcompany.com/3015065/the-code-war/syrian-hackers-compromise-white-house-staffers-personal-email-accounts
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About Shailendra Nair
AI Generalist & Executive Tech Leader in Insurance & Benefits Tech. Driving growth, trust, and resilience from AIG to Marsh McLennan.
I am an AI Generalist and Executive Technology Leader with a career dedicated to reimagining how insurance and benefits ecosystems work in a digital first world. My expertise spans Insurance & Benefits Tech, digital transformation, and cybersecurity, with a proven ability to turn technology into both a growth engine and a resilience enabler.
I have worked with global leaders such as PepsiCo, Allianz, AIG, and Marsh McLennan, experiences that gave me a rare mix of perspectives across insurance carriers, broking, and benefits advisory. This combination allows me to design solutions that balance global standards, local compliance, and client expectations while driving measurable business value.
My strength lies in full stack insurance technology leadership, covering Property & Casualty, Life, and Benefits. I bring hands-on expertise in infrastructure, cloud, security, and enterprise architecture, combined with data platforms, AI automation, and digital ecosystems. Having led across this spectrum, I can translate complex technology into practical outcomes that deliver trust, scale, and innovation.
As an AI Generalist, I focus on impact:
• Building automation first operations that scale efficiently.
• Designing chatbots and intelligent assistants to empower employees and clients.
• Deploying AI-driven QA frameworks to improve speed and accuracy.
• Exploring agentic AI roles to support compliance and transformation.
My philosophy is simple: technology should reduce friction, inspire confidence, and accelerate growth. I design platforms that enhance sales, revenue, and client stickiness, proving that tech can directly enable business outcomes. At the same time, I remain deeply client centric a solution enabler who thinks out of the box to solve real challenges and deliver measurable ROI.
🌍 What excites me most is reimagining benefits ecosystems for the future of work. Employees demand seamless digital first experiences, organizations need efficiency, and regulators require trust and security. My mission is to build ecosystems that are secure, resilient, innovative, and human focused.
The opinion expressed here or re- blogged are my personal opinion and views and has no relation to any organization , group or people.
::: Shailendra Nair ::: 