A group claiming to be affiliated with the terror group ISIS has posted online what it says are the names and personal information of about 100 members of the U.S. military, a senior defense official told NBC News on Sunday.
A group, which referred to itself as the "Islamic State Hacking Division," said in English in an online posting that it had hacked military servers, databases and emails to obtain the information, according to Reuters.
The posting urged violence against service members, whose names and addresses were listed, Reuters reported. The senior defense official told NBC News that some photos had also been posted, but said that much of the information was "already out there" in public records and media reports.
The defense official said that some of those named are in fact active-duty service members, while some names have not been confirmed as such. The defense official said that the Pentagon is encouraging those who are listed to "be aware and exercise appropriate levels of personal force protection," but the Pentagon will not be pulling the named service members from duty or providing them with personal security.
"This is more about intimidation and propaganda," the official said. According to the official, ISIS has done similar posts "two or three times before."
IN-DEPTH
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- CENTCOM Twitter, YouTube Accounts Hacked With Pro-ISIS Messages
— Jim Miklaszewski and Elisha Fieldstadt
