US military Twitter and YouTube accounts hacked by Isis supporters

The hack by Islamic extremists of the Twitter and YouTube accounts of the U.S. Central Command on Monday shows the need for stronger cybersecurity, President Obama has said.

Mr Obama made the remarks at a bipartisan meeting at the White House at which he urged Democrats and Republicans to work together on issues such as tax reform and trade.

Analysis: Hacking is 'severe embarrassment to US military'

The US Army Central Command's Twitter account has returned after being temporarily taken off-line because of an act of "cyber-vandalism" by apparent pro-Islamic State computer hackers.

The FBI says it is investigating the hacking of US Central Command's Twitter and YouTube accounts.

US Central Command has said its military networks were not infiltrated by ISIS sympathisers who attacked its social network sites.

It said the incident - which left its Twitter and YouTube accounts compromised for around 30 minutes - had "no operational impact" and that its "initial assessment" is that no classified information was released.

No classified information has been compromised in the hacking of the US Central Command's social media accounts, a US Army official has said.

Centcom's Twitter and YouTube accounts have been suspended after apparently being hacked by Islamic State supporters.

"It's inconvenient, it's an annoyance but in no way is any sensitive or classified information compromised," Army Colonel Steve Warren said.

Warren said the defence department viewed the incident as "little more than a prank or as vandalism."

ITV News Washington Correspondent Robert Moore said the hacking is a "severe embarrassment to the US military".

There is no doubt that this is a severe embarrassment to the US military.

It does appear that hackers working for or on behalf of ISIS have infiltrated the social media accounts of Centcom, the regional command that oversees military operations in the Middle East.

And it comes on the very day that President Obama was actually urging US companies to be far more vigilant over the use of their computer systems.

The Pentagon is saying that its actual computer systems were not breached, but this is a vivid reminder that the cyberspace is the new frontline in warfare.

The White House has said it is monitoring the extent of the hacking attack at US Central Command.

President Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest said there was a significant difference between a large data breach and the hacking of a Twitter account.

A Pentagon official has told NBC News that the hacking of the US Central Command's Twitter account is "embarrassing but not a security threat".

The US Central Command Twitter account has been suspended almost an hour after an alleged hack by ISIS supporters.

A Pentagon official has also confirmed that the department's YouTube channel has also been suspended.