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Le Monde says Syrian Electronic Army behind hack attack

The French daily said an attack on its Twitter account and website on Wednesday was the work of a hacker supporting the Damas regime.

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French newspaper Le Monde said its Twitter account and publishing tool were hacked by Syrian Electronic Army, an amorphous hacker collective that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, reports Reuters.

"The hackers managed to infiltrate our publishing tool before launching a denial of service," the newspaper said on its website.

Le Monde sent out a tweet saying it has taken back control of its computers. "We apologize for any fraudulent posts on our behalf."

A Twitter Inc spokesman in France said the company did not comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons.

Representatives at "Le Monde" declined to comment.

In November, the websites of British and North American media organizations and retailer Wal-Mart's Canadian unit were hacked in a suspected attack by the Syrian Electronic Army.

Among media sites hit were London newspapers The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and Evening Standard. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp and New York Daily News also said they had fallen victim to the hack.

Read more of this report from Reuters.