On March 29, 2021, the official Twitter account of US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) raised eyebrows when it tweeted out a string of seemingly random letters interspersed with semi-colons.
Could the account have been hacked? Or had someone inadvertently leaked the nuclear launch codes on the internet?
Neither, as it turns out. It was just a kid talking gibberish. As kids are known to do.
USSTRATCOM Tweets Nonsense, Causes Panic
There are several Twitter accounts you don’t ever want to see tweeting random sets of letters and numbers. The President of the United States, for example, although that would be make more sense than some of what the former President, Donald Trump, tweeted.
Another example is US Strategic Command which, as part of the Department of Defense, is responsible for the United States’ arsenal of nuclear missiles. One ill-timed tweet from that account could, potentially, spell disaster for everyone.
And yet that is what happened on March 29, with the US Strategic Command Twitter account tweeting “;l;;gmlxzssaw” out of nowhere.
brb ✈️ nuclear codes pic.twitter.com/G8OnFSidgx
— David Mack (@davidmackau) March 29, 2021
Twitter immediately exploded into a frenzy of speculation, with users wondering what that seemingly random set of letters could signify.
Was it a coded message to someone on a secret mission, somewhere in the world? Was it a password inadvertently typed into the wrong window? Or had the account been hacked by nefarious forces?
The truth was far simpler, and far less interesting.
It Was Just a Kid Doing What Kids Do
First of all, USSTRATCOM deleted the tweet and posted a follow-up apologizing for the confusion and asking followers to “disregard this post”. That tweet was also then deleted.
And it wasn’t until The Daily Dot filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that the truth was revealed.
Filed a FOIA request with U.S. Strategic Command to see if I could learn anything about their gibberish tweet yesterday.
Turns out their Twitter manager left his computer unattended, resulting in his “very young child” commandeering the keyboard. pic.twitter.com/KR07PCyCUM
— Mikael Thalen (@MikaelThalen) March 29, 2021
Within hours, US Strategic Command responded with the explanation:
The Command’s Twitter manager, while in a telework status, momentarily left the Command’s Twitter account open and unattended. His very young child took advantage of the situation and started playing with the keys and unfortunately, and unknowingly, posted the tweet.
USSTRATCOM then sought to reassure us all that everything is fine, saying, “Absolutely nothing nefarious occurred, i.e., no hacking of our Twitter account. The post was discovered and notice to delete it occurred telephonically.”
So, someone was a little careless with their keyboard, but that carelessness didn’t lead to nuclear armageddon. Thankfully.
Keep Kids (and Cats) Away From Keyboards
The lesson here is to keep kids (and cats for that matter) away from your computer keyboards. Or lock your screen when you walk away. Or, if you’re in charge of a Twitter account as important as @US_Stratcom, maybe log yourself out when you take a break for lunch.
Image Credit: John Watson/Flickr