Hackers breach senior U.S. Space Force official’s Instagram account and post Iranian propaganda

Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John "B-9" Bentivegna speaks onstage at a special screening of "FLY ME TO THE MOON" in July 2024 in Washington, DC. (Shannon Finney/Getty Images for Sony Pictures via CNN Newsource)

Hackers breached a senior U.S. Space Force official’s Instagram account and temporarily posted a string of pro-Iran and anti-U.S. propaganda on Sunday, some of it invoking the Vietnam War.

One video reviewed by CNN used audio from “Hanoi Hannah,” an infamous Vietnam War propagandist, telling U.S. soldiers to “leave a sinking ship.” The video also featured images of late Iranian security official Ali Larijani, who was killed weeks into the U.S.-Israel-Iran war.

In a Facebook post Sunday night, Chief Master Sgt. John Bentivegna, the top enlisted guardian in the Space Force, advised his colleagues not to click on any links or engage with videos that his account posted.

“We are working with the appropriate teams to regain access and resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” Bentivegna said. A Space Force spokesperson confirmed the hack but declined to answer questions about how long the hacked content was displayed on Bentivegna’s account or who was responsible for the incident.

Space Force has played a significant role in U.S. military operations against Iran. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, credited the force with using “non-kinetic effects” to hamper Iran’s defenses when the U.S. began bombing Iran on February 28.

U.S. military leaders have repeatedly warned their troops that their phone and online accounts could be targets during the war. U.S. Central Command, which spans the Middle East and beyond and leads the U.S. war in Iran, recently told lawmakers that it had “received multiple threat reports concerning adversary exploitation of commercial location data to target or surveil US personnel in theater.”

In late April, several U.S. Marine Corps personnel, civilian employees and their families received what the Navy called “unsubstantiated” threats via text message from a group of suspected Iranian hackers. One threatening message reviewed by CNN said, “Your identities are fully known to our missile units, and every move you make is under our surveillance.”

The hack of Bentivegna’s Instagram account is only the latest front in the propaganda battles that have been a feature of the U.S. war with Iran.

Iranian hackers in March breached the personal email account of FBI Director Kash Patel and leaked some of his old photos and emails. Young Iranians have also used artificial intelligence to make viral Lego-themed videos mocking U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the U.S. war effort.

For their parts, the White House and U.S. Central Command have released slickly edited videos of military strikes that, for many observers, have evoked video games like Call of Duty.

Sean Lyngaas, Zachary Cohen, CNN