Financial Times Suffers Cyber Attack

Pearson's (NYSE:PSO) Financial Times reported Friday that several of its blogs and social media accounts were “compromised by hackers.”

The announcement, initially made through the U.K.-based business publication’s Twitter account, was also confirmed by FOX Business through a Financial Times spokesperson.

“Today various FT Twitter accounts and one FT blog were compromised by backers,” the company said in a statement. "We have now secured those accounts and are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible."

It wasn’t immediately clear what type of attack the site was undergoing or whether personal subscriber information was compromised, however the Syrian Electronic Army is claiming responsibility and has posted FT emails and passwords on Twitter.

An FT Twitter post earlier Friday morning boasted: "Syrian Electronic Army Was Here." The message contained a shortened link as well as the hashtag #SEA and linked to @Official_SEA12, the Syrian Electronic Army's twitter page. The group claimed to have hit 17 Twitter accounts, though most were arms of the FT's.

FT has combined paid print and digital circulation of more than 600,000.

The attack comes amid growing risks online and among social media accounts as well as rising high-profile cyber attacks.

Earlier this year, the Twitter accounts of Burger King (NYSE:BKW) and Jeep were compromised and taken over by vulgar tweets. Other major targets have been U.S. banks like J.P. Morgan (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), even the Federal Reserve.

Other media groups, including the New York Times (NYSE:NYT), have also suffered recently from cyber attacks.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently began allowing companies to share sensitive information on social media sites like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter, highlighting the growing use of social media and the speed at which news travels on those sites. It also offers, however, yet another risk on a platform where hackers run rampant, and companies have been slow to adopt the disclosure method.

The FT Group's Financial Times, a business newspaper and web site based in London, is operated by Pearson, which also has a 50% interest in The Economist, and owns Mergermarket.

Fox Business reporters Adam Samson & Matt Egan contributed to this report.