• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO

1

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
TechCybersecurity

A Hacker Group Hijacked Some Medium Blogs (Including Ours)

By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
and
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Robert Hackett
Robert Hackett
and
Jeff John Roberts
Jeff John Roberts
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 27, 2017, 6:43 PM ET
Twitter Inc. Co-Founder and Medium.com Chief Executive Officer Evan Williams Interview
Evan "Ev" Williams, co-founder of Twitter Inc. and co-founder and chief executive officer of Medium.com, speaks during a Bloomberg West Television interview in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016. Williams discussed the use of social media by presidential candidates, the growing concerns surrounding online harassment and the future of Twitter. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesDavid Paul Morris—Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

On Thursday morning, the hacker group known as “OurMine” hijacked several Medium blogs—including a Fortune contributors network. The group hit Wired’s Backchannel site and, we believe, a Bloomberg Tech blog, too.

Medium’s team took the sites down soon after being notified, eventually regaining control and restoring their content.

The hacker (or hackers) had taken over the Medium account of an employee on the blogging site’s strategic partnerships team, which works with publishers such as Fortune and Bloomberg, a person involved in the cleanup told Fortune. During the attack, OurMine used its access to do what it usually does: deface the sites, blast notices that they had been hacked, and claim to be “testing” security.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

“Hacked By OurMine ( Read – Important! ) – Hacked By OurMine ( Read – Important! ),” the group posted on Backchannel. A screenshot of the text captured in Google’s search engine cache following the takeover can be seen below.

“We’re temporarily offline—thanks for bearing with us while we sort things out!” Backchannel posted on Twitter in the interim. (This site and the others are now back online.)

The vandals did the same to a Fortune’s “insiders” blog, which is independent from the website you’re currently reading. “Hacked By OurMine,” the group wrote on the Medium page, changing the content of existing posts. “Hi, it’s OurMine don’t worry we are just testing your security,” the group said, before directing people to the its own website. (We do not recommend visiting their site.)

Fortune believes the hackers also targeted Bloomberg Tech’s Medium page. Like Fortune’s and Backchannel’s pages, Bloomberg’s homepage displayed a “404” error message shortly after the takeovers came to light. A Bloomberg spokesperson declined to comment.

In a statement provided to Fortune, Medium confirmed the hack. “This morning a group claiming to be OurMine gained access to a few publications that are hosted on Medium.com and made several changes to their content,” the company wrote. “We have stemmed all unauthorized access to these publications and halted the hack. We have reached out to all impacted publications to revert their sites to their previous state.”

According to a spokesperson from Backchannel, the OurMine vandals replaced the content of three stories and hacked the site’s homepage, resulting in the site being offline for about an hour.

A source familiar with the matter said Thursday’s incidents stemmed from OurMine hacking the Twitter (TWTR) account of a Medium administrator. The employee also used the Twitter account as a log-in mechanism for the online publication platform, which let the hacker access the publishers’ pages on Medium.

The hack of the employee’s Twitter account shows how using the login of one service to access another, while convenient, can increase the potential damage if the original account is hacked. Users can see which applications are linked to their Twitter account and selectively revoke access here. (Also, remember to protect your online accounts with long, strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication.)

Learn about two-factor authentication here:

The group known as OurMine first emerged in 2016 and has earned a reputation as a nuisance hacker. It briefly took over the social media accounts of well known business people, including those of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Facebook (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Google (GOOG) CEO Sundar Pichai, but did little more than announce its name in its hacks.

The group has claimed its activity is a way to promote its security services, but many are skeptical. As a Wired profile on OurMine noted last fall, “those seeking a security audit should probably not engage a group of anonymous, lawbreaking Twitter-defacement artists.”

Thursday’s hacks are not the first time OurMine has targeted media outlets. Last year, the group hacked BuzzFeed in apparent retaliation for a story by the site that claimed to identify one of OurMine’s members as a Saudi teenager. OurMine also appears to have vandalized a network of YouTube channels last week.

About the Authors
Robert Hackett
By Robert Hackett
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Jeff John Roberts
By Jeff John RobertsEditor, Finance and Crypto
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jeff John Roberts is the Finance and Crypto editor at Fortune, overseeing coverage of the blockchain and how technology is changing finance.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

aus
LawSocial Media
Australia’s under-16 social media ban is failing, so the government is (literally) doubling down
By Rod McGuirk and The Associated PressJune 29, 2026
1 hour ago
swisher
Politicspodcasts
‘Podcasts are the NBA’: Scott Galloway on Kara Swisher’s big success — ‘there’s a small amount of people making a lot of money’
By Steven Sloan and The Associated PressJune 29, 2026
2 hours ago
comcast
Big TechMarkets
Comcast stock jumps 24% for agreeing to break up with itself
By Michelle Chapman and The Associated PressJune 29, 2026
2 hours ago
Internet technology and people's networks use AI to help with work, AI Learning or artificial intelligence in business and modern technology, AI technology in everyday life.
AICFO Daily
AI spending boom accelerates as Big Tech pours trillions into infrastructure
By Sheryl EstradaJune 29, 2026
3 hours ago
The CEO behind Grand Theft Auto VI doesn’t play video games, but analysts say he has put $1.5 billion behind the biggest game launch of the decade
Big TechVideo Games
The CEO behind Grand Theft Auto VI doesn’t play video games, but analysts say he has put $1.5 billion behind the biggest game launch of the decade
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJune 29, 2026
4 hours ago
surman
CommentaryMozilla
Mozilla President: meet the open source ‘rebel alliance’ that could break Big Tech’s grip on AI
By Mark SurmanJune 29, 2026
4 hours ago

Most Popular

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
4 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
2 days ago
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
Success
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
Success
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
By Preston ForeJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
1 day ago
Iran is forcing the U.S. into an escalation trap as a 'shadow war' over the Strait of Hormuz heats up that could kill the tenuous ceasefire
Politics
Iran is forcing the U.S. into an escalation trap as a 'shadow war' over the Strait of Hormuz heats up that could kill the tenuous ceasefire
By Jason MaJune 28, 2026
22 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.