( CNN ) -- The head of world soccer Sepp Blatter has again been caught up in controversy -- but this time it was all the fault of a fake FIFA president . Blatter 's Twitter account was hacked on Monday as was FIFA 's official account for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil . As well saying he was stepping down as FIFA president , the bogus tweets referred to Blatter and Qatar 's winning 2022 World Cup bid . `` Some FIFA accounts , including @ SeppBlatter and @ fifaworldcup , have been hacked , '' said FIFA in a statement . A group calling themselves the Syrian Electronic Army -- said to be supportive of the country 's leader Bashar Al-Assad -- claimed responsibility for hacking the accounts . `` This sort of attack is about getting a point across , '' Sian John , security strategist at software and security firm Symantec , told CNN . `` Hacking comes back to manipulation . Some groups do it to gain money and some of them to do it to get a point across . There are different motivating factors . '' Last month , the Syrian Electronic Army hacked into several of British broadcaster the BBC 's accounts . Prior to the hacking of Blatter , another Twitter account emerged -- @ Fifnonymous -- which threatened to disclose confidential FIFA documents , though it was quickly deleted or suspended . It is unclear whether the account was genuine or a hoax . `` At no time did an account with this name come up in any discussions with Twitter , '' a FIFA spokesman told CNN . Other high-profile victims of hacking include Burger King and Jeep , whose Twitter accounts were both hijacked in February . Twitter 's own systems were hacked earlier this year , with attackers gaining access to usernames as well as encrypted and randomized passwords for about 250,000 users . `` As we are online so much more now , I 'd expect to see more high-profile attacks , '' added John . `` It 's not a reason to panic but a reason to take a step back and think how we should protect ourselves online . `` I spend most of my time trying to encourage companies to make information security a priority . People used to see it as an IT problem -- but now they see it as a business problem . `` The challenge for businesses now is how they manage the impact on their brand if they were to have an attack . '' Blatter may have been targeted because he divides opinion , regularly attracting controversy over his leadership but also helping promote soccer across the globe . A series of corruption scandals within FIFA , his botched re-election campaign -- where his only opponent was barred from standing after another corruption scandal -- and the failure of England 's bid to host the 2018 World Cup to attract any interest in FIFA 's corridors of power ( despite having the best technical report ) led to an outpouring of criticism of Blatter . However , his dedication to grassroots football and the game 's growth in Africa , the Middle East and Asia are widely regarded as positives of his presidency . When Blatter joined the federation , 146 countries were members . Now , there are 209 member nations , earning Fifa the nickname the `` United Nations of Football '' . Despite the embarrassment for FIFA and Blatter , security expert John urged him to continue tweeting . Password panic . `` Open attacks are most often down to the users themselves , '' John explained . `` Strong passwords are crucial to prevent hacking . `` I ask friends five questions and if any of the answers they give me are part of their passwords then they have failed the test . `` The questions are spouse 's name , significant birthdays , favorite sporting team , siblings and pet 's name . Many a dog has died and lived on in a password . `` The key is not panicking . There 's no need to stay off social media or the internet -- it 's about thinking about the dangers . `` Secure your password , do n't use social media on free public wifi , do n't let people see what you 're typing -- and do n't say something on social media which you would n't be prepared to shout out at in a public space . '' A Twitter spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the hacking of the Blatter and FIFA 's accounts . FIFA president since 1998 , the 77-year-old Blatter has not yet announced whether he will be standing for a fifth term when his current term ends in 2015 . But if he does , he may want to set a new password first .
FIFA president Sepp Blatter 's Twitter account hacked . He also write bogus messages on official Twitter page for 2010 World Cup . A fake Twitter account recently threatened to disclose confidential FIFA information . Blatter 's short tenure as FIFA president has divided critics .