Cyber Incident Victim: John Cena
Date:
Jan 2017
Location:
United States of America
Summary
A hacker group compromised multiple social media accounts associated with a wrestling organization, including those of prominent wrestlers and its affiliated networks, along with a major news network's Facebook pages. The attackers posted messages claiming to test security and offering their services, prompting the organization to regain control and secure the breached accounts. The group asserted they exploited linked administrative access for the initial breach and selected targets randomly, maintaining they acted as white-hat hackers focused on exposing vulnerabilities without malicious intent. This incident followed prior compromises of high-profile entertainment companies, sports leagues, tech executives, and media outlets, where the group similarly left security advisories after unauthorized access.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 1 technique |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On January 28, 2017, the hacker group OurMine compromised multiple official World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) social media accounts, including those of wrestlers John Cena and Triple H, as well as the WWE Universe, WWE NXT, WWE Network, SummerSlam, and WWE’s Tumblr page. The attackers posted identical messages across all breached accounts, displaying their logo and stating, "Hey, it's OurMine we are just testing your security, please contact us for more information, Thanks," alongside a link to their website. OurMine later claimed the WWE accounts were linked to the head of social media’s account, enabling simultaneous access. WWE confirmed the incident to Mashable, acknowledging a "brief period" of unauthorized access on Saturday evening before re-securing the accounts. No data theft or prolonged disruption was reported.
The following day, January 29, OurMine expanded its activity by briefly breaching CNN’s primary Facebook account, CNN International, and CNN Politics pages, leaving the same testing message and contact details. These posts were removed approximately 30 minutes after appearing. OurMine described itself as an "elite hacker group" focused on exposing vulnerabilities without malicious intent, offering security assistance to victims. The group had previously targeted high-profile accounts in 2016, including Marvel, Netflix, and NFL social media handles, alongside tech executives like Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey. Their October 2016 defacement of BuzzFeed’s website included warnings against spreading "fake news" about them. No financial or operational impacts beyond temporary account control were documented in the WWE or CNN incidents.