Hackers regularly target the Twitter accounts of news organizations, with online activists backing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad claiming responsibility for hacking an AFP Twitter account in February.

The so-called Syrian Electronic Army, which said it had hacked the AFP account, had earlier claimed credit for hacking the websites of Sky News Arabia and Al-Jazeera Mobile.

On Saturday, social media accounts connected to CBS News programs "60 Minutes" and "48 Hours" were also targeted.

A tweet on the @60Minutes Twitter account stated: "Exclusive: Terror is striking the #USA and #Obama is shamelessly in bed with Al-Qaeda."